


Be Still My Heart(Cause It’s Freaking Out)

by awriterofthings



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-07 01:18:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 58,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13423668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awriterofthings/pseuds/awriterofthings
Summary: Doctor Au. Grey's Anatomy based. Beca has a one-night stand with Chloe and is more than surprised when she learns that the redhead will be starting an internship at Barden Hospital where she is an attending





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 

            Beca was sitting beside her two best friends, Aubrey and Luke while she watched the women move along the dance floor. She hadn't found anyone who had caught her interest yet and she was thinking the night was going to be a bust. She glanced over at her friends and rolled her eyes as they whispered to each other and laughed. "Will you two stop being all lovey dovey."

            Aubrey quirked an eyebrow. "Talking is being lovey dovey now?"

            "You're doing that weird couple thing," Beca sighed. This is why she liked to go out on the prowl alone but Luke really wanted a fun night out with Aubrey so she allowed it.

            "You know, you could be doing "that weird couple thing" too if you'd stop insisting on being single." Luke gestured out to the dance floor. "What satisfaction can anyone get from a one night stand?"

            Beca grinned and opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Aubrey. "We're talking long-term satisfaction, perv. You bring all these women home but what's the point in the end when there's nothing there?"

            "I just don't want to date right now," Beca answered.

            "Right, too many feelings for you to handle," Aubrey stated with a roll of her eyes.

            “No, I’m too busy with work. I don’t have the time or energy to put into a relationship.”

            Luke gestured between himself and Aubrey. “We’re on the same boat. We make time for each other, though. I think you’d be happier if you let someone in.”

            Beca sighed. “I don’t need a lecture.”

            “We’re going to go dance,” Aubrey said as she stood up, pulling her boyfriend with her. "Let's go dance, Luke."

            "If you don't see me here when you get back, I'll see you in the morning," Beca grinned.

            “Just adhere to my rules,” Aubrey warned.

            “No skanks on the couch, but I never bring anyone back to the apartment,” she pointed out.

            “Just in case,” Aubrey said before walking off with Luke.  

            Beca pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time and decided tonight was definitely going to be a fail for her. She was usually out of here by now with a hot woman hanging on her arm. Giving up for the night, Beca got comfortable on the club’s couch and began to play a game on her phone.

            "You don't look like you're having fun."

            Beca's head shot up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice and she was struck dumb by the beauty of the redhead before her. Her eyes scanned the woman’s body. She was wearing a tight black dress that stopped just above her knees. When she realized she hadn't responded, she quickly put her phone away and smiled. "Hi..."

            "Chloe," the redhead smiled back. "And you are?"

            "Beca." Beca gestured to the empty space beside her. "Would you like to have a seat?"

            "No, actually," Chloe said, still smiling. "I'd like for you to dance with me."

            "I'm not much of a dancer," Beca admitted.

            "I'll do all the work." Chloe held her hand out to Beca and pouted slightly.

            Beca laughed lightly and stood up. "Okay, okay. We can dance."

            Chloe smiled, triumphantly and pulled Beca through the crowd of people and onto the center of the dance floor. The dancing they did mostly consisted of Beca's hands on Chloe's hips while the redhead moved against her. A certain grind into Beca's crotch made her moan lightly which didn't go unheard by Chloe. Chloe grinned mischievously and continued grinding on her dance partner. Several songs later, Beca and Chloe ended up at the bar for a drink.

            "So, Beca," Chloe paused and took a sip of the drink the brunette had bought her. "What do you do?"

            Beca didn’t like talking about her personal life so she tended to keep her answers vague. “I help people.”

            Chloe chuckled. “Okay, do you wear a black mask while helping people?”

            Beca smirked. “I actually prefer blue. So are you here alone?”

            “No, I’m with my friends. We’re out celebrating,” Chloe answered as she picked up her drink.

            Beca assumed they were out celebrating a birthday and grew curious about the redhead’s age. “How old are you?”

            “Twenty-two,” Chloe answered. “Why? How old are you?”

            “Twenty-six.” Beca sometimes felt older than she was. Especially for being the youngest attending at Barden Hospital. She had graduated high school at fourteen and had finished her medical training by twenty-five. It had been many years of no friends, hard work and a non-existant personal life but she had made it. The Prodigy, her father liked to call her.

            Chloe quirked a brow. “Twenty-six? You look younger than me.”

            “Great genes,” Beca replied before sipping her drink.

            “So now that you know you’re not rocking the cradle,” Chloe grinned, “Do you want to get out of here?”

            Beca laughed. "Yeah, I could use a different atmosphere."

            Chloe linked her fingers with Beca’s, throwing the brunette off guard. "Ready?"

            Beca decided she liked the way Chloe's hand felt in her own so she tightened her grasp a bit. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

 

 

            Beca woke up the following morning feeling sore in all the right places. She smiled to herself at the memory of the night before but then froze when she felt arms around her waist. _Shit!_  She hadn’t gotten up in the middle of the night and snuck out like she usually did with her one-night stands. She slowly raised her head and saw that she had two hours before she had to be at work. She wondered if she could maneuver out of Chloe’s grasp without waking her. She liked to avoid awkward morning afters.

            Gently placing her hand on Chloe’s, she removed her arm from around her waist. When the redhead shifted in her sleep, Beca froze. _Don’t wake up, don’t wake up, don’t wake up!_ Chloe turned over so that her back was facing Beca’s. Beca let out a relieved breath and got up from the bed slowly. She quickly got dressed and made sure she had her car keys and phone before making her way out of the room.

            As she headed to the front door, she was relieved that Chloe’s roommate wasn’t walking about. She left the apartment making sure to lock the bottom lock before rushing out to her car.

 

 

            Beca entered her apartment and took in the smell of breakfast being made. She spotted Aubrey in the kitchen and wondered if she could sneak by without being noticed.

            “When you said I wouldn’t see you until the morning, I didn’t think you meant you’d be spending the night somewhere else,” Aubrey said without turning around.

            Beca’s shoulders slumped and she went to sit at the counter. “I fell asleep.”

            “Must’ve been comfortable where you were,” Aubrey said.

            “No, I was just tired,” Beca clarified. “I’m just glad I got out of there without having to deal with the awkward “are we going to do this again?” moment.”

            Aubrey turned off the stove and faced Beca. “You should really think about settling down. You’d be a lot happier.”

            “I’m happy,” Beca said, almost offended that Aubrey thought she was anything but ecstatic about her life.

            “I’ve known you since you were fourteen, Beca,” Aubrey pointed out. “It’s been nothing but work for you. You can’t be happy with that.”

            “This coming from the woman who was all work and no play until a year ago,” Beca shot back.

            “Yeah, but then I realized that wasn’t any way to live,” Aubrey said.  

            Beca didn’t want to listen to this. She was fine with how things were. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

            “I’ll leave your breakfast on the table,” Aubrey said, dropping the subject.

            “Thanks.” Once inside the bathroom, Beca turned on the shower and stripped off her clothes as she waited a few seconds for the water to get warm. She stepped into the shower and turned so that her back was to the water. Bending her head back, she let the water run over her hair. She let out a breath and rubbed her hands over her face before turning back around and resting her forehead on the tile. She felt drained but it was a feeling that she was used to. Closing her eyes, she let the water cascade over her, enjoying the peace and quiet before she started her hectic day.

 

 

            “Ready to meet the interns?” Luke asked Beca as they walked down the hall. “I’m excited for the fresh meat. I think I’m going to play good cop since you and Aubrey pretty much have scary covered.”

            Beca smirked. “They won’t learn anything if you’re too nice to them.”

            “They won’t learn anything if they’re afraid of you,” Luke retorted.

            Beca sipped the cup of coffee that she was holding. “I don’t even want to be dealing with these interns.”

            “It’ll be fun,” Luke assured her.

            Beca rolled her eyes. “It’ll be like babysitting. Something I’m not a fan of.”  

            The two approached the hallway where the three new interns were listening to Aubrey. Beca was surprised there were even three. It was hard to get an internship at Barden Hospital and even harder to remain there.  

            “I have five rules,” Aubrey was saying. “One, don’t irritate me. It’ll make me dislike you even more than I already do. Two, if your pager goes off, you _run_ to where you need to be. Three, the on-call room is for _sleeping._ Make sure that’s all you do in there. And if you do break that rule, it better not be with an attending. Four, _Listen._ Everything an attending says to you is important so you better hang on to every word. Five, no complaining. You are interns. You work on-call every second night until you drop. Any questions?”

            Everyone stayed silent.

            “Good,” Aubrey said. She noticed Luke and Beca walk up beside her. “This is Doctor Evans and Doctor Mitchell. Doctor Evans in a general surgeon and Doctor Mitchell is a trauma surgeon. And if I didn’t mention it before, I’m a cardiothoracic surgeon.”  

            Beca glanced around at the interns but froze on a pair of familiar blue eyes staring back at her just as shocked as she was. _fan-fucking- tastic._

“Conrad you’re on my service today, Swanson you’re with Evans, Beale you’ll be with Mitchell. Alright, let’s go.”

            Chloe walked over to Beca and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Her friends had already gone off with the other two doctors leaving her alone with Beca. “Beca-,”

            “Doctor Mitchell,” Beca corrected. “Let’s go.”

            Chloe sighed and followed the brunette down the hall.

            “I don’t have as many rules as Doctor Posen,” Beca said as she stopped at the nurses’ station. “You move when I move. You’re basically my shadow. And do you know what shadows don’t do?”

            “Um, what?” Chloe asked.

            Beca picked up a chart from the nurse and looked at Chloe. “Get in the way.”

            Chloe nodded. “Got it.” She wondered if they would talk about the night before but she was afraid to bring it up. The last thing she needed was her attending getting upset with her on her first day. Chloe was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Beca had walked away. She quickly caught up with her and received a questioning look from Beca.

            “Sorry,” Chloe said, sheepishly.

            “We’ll work on your shadow ability,” Beca said as she continued down the hall.  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

            Chloe was poking at her food while she sat in the cafeteria listening to Stacie and Jesse tell her about their day. Aubrey had made Stacie practice sutures on a banana for an hour and Jesse had been running the code team. They each had been able to watch surgeries be performed and Stacie had even been able to hold a clamp during one of them.

            "So what have you been doing?" Stacie asked. "How's Mitchell?"

            "I don't think she likes having me around," Chloe answered. "She hasn't said much to me."

            "She's hot. She's got that mysterious and sexy thing going for her."

            Chloe rolled her eyes. "I know you're always on the prowl, Stace but you heard Posen. No attendings."

            Stacie sighed before pouting. "I know. I'll try not to be tempted, but you know it's a hunter."

            Jesse shook his head. "Well keep it under control. You don't want to hook up with an attending and get your name ruined. It's not worth having people think you slept your way to the top, but I do have to agree that Mitchell is hot."

            Stacie looked over at Chloe who remained silent. "What? No opinion?"

            "She's attractive," Chloe said, simply. She wasn't going to tell her friends about her one-night stand with Beca. Not because she didn't trust them with the information but it wasn't only her secret to keep. Granted she had more to lose than Beca if anyone found out. Her reputation for starters.

            "Speaking of Beca," Jesse began in a low voice as he leaned forward. "I heard she started college at fourteen. She's only twenty-six."

            "What a bad ass." Stacie looked over to where Beca was sitting with Doctor Posen and Doctor Evans. "I can't wait to not be an intern anymore so I can get under that."

            "Stacie," Chloe chided.

            "And guess who her father is," Jesse continued. "The chief of surgery. I heard they don't get along."

            "Where did you hear all this?" Stacie asked.

            Jesse grinned. "The nurses love to talk."

            "Stop being a gossip," Chloe said.

            "Speaking of gossip," Stacie smirked, mischievously. "Tell us about your adventure last night. I still can't believe you had a one-night stand."

            "Me neither," Chloe sighed. "There was just something about her that I was drawn to."

            "Do you regret it?" Jesse asked.

            "Absolutely not. It was amazing." Chloe thought back to her night with Beca. The woman had been thorough in bed; her skilled hands sending Chloe into bliss many times over. "I just wish she hadn't been gone the next morning." Waking up in an empty bed had stung. She had felt used even though she had been the one to initiate things between them. She had hoped to get to know Beca. Maybe even become friends.

            "And that is why you shouldn't have one-night stands. You get attached," Stacie said.

            Jesse heard Luke's pager go off and his followed seconds later. "Gotta go. See you two later."

            Stacie sighed. "He gets to have all the fun. Looks like it's just-," Stacie's pager went off just as Aubrey's did. "You. We'll talk later." She got up and followed Aubrey out of the cafeteria.

            Chloe looked over at Beca and bit her bottom lip as she contemplated whether to sit with her or not. That was the "cool kids" table. Sitting there without invitation could be a big problem. Taking a deep breath, Chloe stood up with her tray and sat down at the table.

            Beca quirked a brow. "What are you doing?"

            "I wanted to talk to you about last night," Chloe said, quietly.

            "What about it?" Beca asked, nonchalantly.

            "Um..." Chloe looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Let's just pretend that nothing happened. I don't want it getting out."

            "I agree," Beca said. "You're an intern and I'm an attending."

            "Exactly. It's inappropriate," Chloe said. "I don't want to be whispered about by nurses and hated by other interns. I want to be taken seriously."

            Beca stared at Chloe silently for a few seconds before smirking. "You know you're absolutely gorgeous." Beca knew better than to flirt with the intern but she couldn't help but mess with her.

            Chloe's eyes widened and a blush crept up her neck. "You can't say things like that," she whispered loudly.

            Beca shrugged. "It's the truth."

            "We need to be professional," Chloe stated.

            Beca picked up her styrofoam cup and sat back in her chair. "I totally agree. I won't bring up the amazing sex we had again."

            Chloe looked around to make sure no one heard. "I'm serious, Doctor Mitchell."

            Beca took a sip from her cup. "I'm messing with you, Beale. Relax. I don't want anyone to know either."

            Chloe let out a relieved breath. "Great, I'm glad we're on the same page." She paused for a moment and leaned forward. "Did you really think it was amazing?"

            Beca winked at the woman and stood up before making her way out of the cafeteria. Chloe quickly stood up and followed her. "What are you doing?"

            "Um, being your shadow," Chloe answered, hesitantly.

            Beca sighed. "I can't wait for tomorrow."

            "What's tomorrow?" Chloe asked, curiously.

            "You interns get put with your resident. Doctor Posen wanted you three to see what you could be doing if you're good enough. You have to prove yourself worthy first if you want to scrub in on surgeries."

            Chloe's shoulders slumped. "So we're going to be stuck doing grunt work tomorrow?"

            "Is that a complaint?" Beca asked, knowing Aubrey's five rules.

            "No," Chloe quickly said. "I was just asking."

            When Beca stopped at the nurses’ desk, Chloe took notice of the big grin that appeared on the nurse sitting behind it.

            "Shannon, how's Mrs. Reynolds doing?"

            "She hasn't woken up since her surgery but her vitals are all good," the nurse replied.

            "Thanks," Beca said as she looked over her patient's chart.

            "No problem," the woman said. "Hey, what are you going to be doing later?"

            "Working. I'm on-call."

            Chloe noticed the disappointment on the nurse's face as Beca walked away without another word.

            "Fan of yours?" Chloe asked.

            Beca frowned in confusion. "Excuse me?"

            "She seemed really interested in you. All doe-eyed and whatnot.”

            “Is there a question in there somewhere?” Beca asked as she stopped outside of her patient’s room. “If there is, I hope it’s medical-related.”

            “No question.” Chloe could tell that the attending didn’t like being asked personal questions. Just like back at the bar the night prior. 

            Beca opened the door to her patient’s room and walked inside to check on her. Chloe followed behind wondering if Beca was short with everyone or if their one-night stand had altered the way she was being treated.

 

 

            Beca had just finished taking a power nap and went in search of Chloe who she had told to deliver labs to patients. As she walked through the halls, she located the redheaded intern standing at the nurse’s station, laughing at something Callie Torres, an ortho attending, had said to her. She made her way over to them and Callie nodded in greeting.

            “I’m trying to convince your intern here that ortho is where it’s at,” Callie grinned.

            “Let’s see if she even makes it that far to choose a specialty,” Beca commented, nonchalantly.

            “Geez, Beca. Always such a downer,” Callie chided, good-naturedly. “I have to get ready for a surgery. It was nice meeting you, Chloe. Remember, I’m an ortho god at this hospital. Come find me if you have any questions. I assure you, it’s the best specialty.”

            Chloe smiled. “Thanks, Doctor Torres. I’ll keep that in mind.” Chloe looked at Beca once Callie was gone. “She’s awesome.”

            “She is,” Beca agreed. “So is her wife. Did you deliver all the labs I told you to?”

            Chloe frowned, thinking Beca had the wrong idea of her and Callie. “I don’t want to fall into bed with her or anything. I just think she’s cool.”

            Beca rolled her eyes. “Did I say anything about you wanting to fall into bed with her?”

            “It was kind of insinuated,” Chloe stated.

            Beca sighed. She didn’t have time for this. “Labs. Delivered or not?”

            “Delivered,” Chloe answered. She wasn’t sure what was up with Beca. The doctor definitely ran hot and cold. Chloe wasn’t sure she could keep up with her mood changes. Flirty one second and acerbic the next.

            “Great. I have a surgery,” Beca said. “I’m putting you on suture duty. Head to the pit.” The pit was better known as the emergency room and Chloe would rather be watching a surgery than doing sutures.

            “But aren’t I supposed to be following you?” Chloe asked.

            “You’re supposed to be listening to me and I’m telling you to go to the pit,” Beca said.

            “Did I do something?” Chloe blurted out. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me so I don’t know why you’re being such a bitch.”

            Chloe’s heart dropped to her stomach. She had just called her attending a bitch. This would definitely be her last day working at a hospital, she was sure. The nurses nearby stopped in shock and watched on with intrigue.

            “Okay, skip the pit,” Beca said, coolly. She spotted a familiar face and waved the woman over. “Cynthia Rose my intern needs something to do.”

            “What level are we talking here?” Cynthia Rose asked, knowingly.

            “A level five.”

            Cynthia Rose looked at the redhead with sympathy. “I’ll have her take over the rectal exams.”  

            “Thanks.” Beca walked off, leaving Chloe to let that sink in.

            “Rectal exams?” Chloe repeated to no one in particular. “Is she serious?”

            “Yeah, don’t get on her bad side,” Cynthia Rose warned.

            “Does she have a good side?” Chloe muttered. Doctor Mitchell and Beca were two different entities. Granted, they didn’t do a lot of talking last night but Beca still seemed nicer outside of the hospital setting.

            “Don’t worry,” Cynthia Rose said. “You’ll either get used to it or you’ll grow on her.”

            Chloe sighed and followed Cynthia Rose down the hall. She hoped her friends were faring better than she was.


	3. Chapter 3

 

**Chapter Three**

            Chloe and her friends were in the locker room changing as they talked about their day. Chloe learned that she wasn’t the only one who had a rough day but she was definitely worse off than the other two.

            “I heard you called Mitchell a bitch,” Jesse said.

            Chloe rolled her eyes. “Will you stop gossiping with the nurses?”

            Stacie’s eyes widened. “You did not.”

            Chloe pulled her shirt on and ran her hands through her hair. “It just… sort of came out.”

            Stacie laughed as she closed her locker and gathered her things. “Wow, and you didn’t get in trouble for that?”

            “She had a resident throw me on rectal exam duty,” Chloe grumbled.

            “Rectal exams?” Stacie asked. “Rough.”

            Jesse took his jacket out of his locker and slipped it on. “I heard she made an intern cry once and they dropped out of the program that same day. Luke was saying statistically, one of us will drop out before we can make it to residency or be asked to leave.”

            Stacie turned to face her friends. “Hey, that won’t be us. This is what we want. We want to save lives. We’re going to be kick-ass doctors.”

            Chloe smiled. Stacie was right. This is what she wanted. She never pictured anything else for herself and she would do her best to prove that she belonged at Barden Hospital.

            “Could anyone else use a drink?” Stacie asked as she headed towards the door.

            Jesse picked up his backpack that contained medical books he read on his downtime. “Seriously? You want to go out drinking?”

            Stacie rolled her eyes. “I said _a_ drink. I just need to relax.”

            Chloe picked up her purse and followed her friends. “I’m in. There’s a bar not too far from here.”

            Stacie nodded. “Yeah, The Brew. A lot of the doctors go there.”

            “Well, then let’s go there,” Jesse said. “I’m not drinking, though. I need my mind to stay fresh.”

            “Oh, shut up,” Stacie said as they exited the hospital.

            Jesse headed off to his car and Chloe went with Stacie since they had driven in together.

            “So how was your first day?” Stacie asked as she started the car.

            Chloe let out a sigh and rested her head on the back of the seat before glancing at Stacie. “Rectal exams.”

            Stacie laughed. “Right, sorry. Shitty day.”

            Chloe was the one to laugh this time. “You’re disgusting.”

            They were at the bar within ten minutes and they quickly found a seat at a table. The bar was busy but it wasn’t packed. It was nice.

            Chloe was removing her jacket when she spotted Beca at the bar. She could’ve sworn that Beca said she was on-call.

            “I’ll go gets us drinks,” Jesse said as he stood up.

            “I’ll go.” Chloe stood up and placed her jacket over the back of the chair. She made her way towards the bar and sat down on the stool besides Beca. She knew she probably shouldn’t bother the woman but she was a glutton for punishment she guessed. “Hi, Doctor Mitchell.”

            Beca looked beside her and smirked at the redhead. “Beca.”

            Chloe frowned. “But I thought you didn’t want me calling you that.”

            Beca looked around the bar. “It doesn’t look like we’re in a hospital setting so I think Beca’s okay.”

            “Okay, Beca... you’re not on-call today?” Chloe asked.

            Beca shook her head. “I only told the nurse that to avoid her asking me out.” Beca finished her beer and set it down on the counter. “What are you getting?”

            “Just three beers,” Chloe answered.  

            “Hey, Kenny. Three beers.” Beca handed the bartender the cash. “Keep the change.” Beca got up from her seat.

            “You didn’t have to do that,” Chloe said, surprised at Beca’s generosity.

            “Consider it a “welcome to Barden” present,” Beca said. “You made it through your first day. It’ll get a lot harder so get a decent amount of sleep and don’t piss me off again tomorrow. It can get a lot worse than rectal exams.”

            Chloe watched Beca walk off to a different part of the bar and shook her head. “Hot and cold,” she said to herself.

            Kenny laughed as he set the drinks down in front of Chloe. “She’s a good person. Just not a lot of people get to see that side of her. The people who stick around get to see that.”

            Kenny walked away to help his next patron and Chloe got up to head back to her table. She set the drinks down before taking a seat.

            “Oh hey, look,” Stacie said as watched Beca walking towards the exit with another woman. “Is that Mitchell’s girlfriend?”

            Chloe turned her head and saw Beca just as she was leaving the bar with a random. “She doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

            Stacie perked up. “So maybe I stand a chance.”

            Chloe looked back at Stacie with a look of disbelief. “No attendings.” She picked up her beer and sipped it as she tried to ignore the pang in her chest she felt at seeing Beca leave with someone. She had approached Beca the night prior because there was something about the brunette that intrigued her. She had wanted to get to know her; to be intimate with her. She had foolishly thought something more would come of their night together. _And this is why I can’t do one-night stands._

“How do you think tomorrow’s going to be?” Jesse asked.

            “Probably more hectic,” Stacie replied. “We won’t be shadowing attendings. They’re going to let us loose so we can prove ourselves.”

            And Chloe was determined to do just that. She wouldn’t let herself be intimidated.

 

 

            Beca entered the hospital and was making her way to the cafeteria for a coffee when she spotted Chloe, Aubrey and Jesse with their resident, Amy.

            “You can call me Fat Amy,” the blonde was saying.

            “Um, Fat Amy?” Chloe repeated.

            “Why do you want us to call you that?” Stacie asked.

            “So twig bitches like you don’t do it behind my back,” Amy replied, coolly.

            “I don’t feel comfortable with that,” Chloe said.

            “Then call me Amy,” the woman said. “Makes no difference to me. Let’s see here… Legs, you’re on labs. Abercrombie, CT scans and Bubbles, take the trauma pager.

            Chloe smiled happily at getting the trauma pager. She hadn’t made up her mind on a specialty yet but she was definitely leaning towards trauma.

            Beca turned down the hall going unnoticed by the group. She was just about to reach the cafeteria when she heard her name being called by Chloe. Sighing, she turned around to face the intern.

            “I’ve got the trauma pager!” Chloe showed her the pager before clipping it to her waist. She was excited to see what injuries she would be dealing with in the pit.

            “Too much perk,” Beca turned back around and entered the cafeteria. “I haven’t had my coffee yet.”

            “Today is going to be great!” Chloe continued, wondering what mood Beca would be in today. “I can feel it.”

            Beca frowned as she looked at the redhead. “You weren’t this hyper yesterday.”

            “I was new yesterday,” Chloe pointed out.

            Beca raised a brow. “You’re new today.”

            “Yeah, but less new,” Chloe corrected. “I’ve got a feel of the hospital. I’m not as nervous and afraid of everything.”

            “Oh god, you’re a peds person,” Beca muttered before ordering her coffee.  

            “A peds person?” Chloe asked with confusion laced in her voice.

            Beca paid for her coffee and turned to leave. “Yeah, they’re all happy go lucky up there.”

            “I don’t want to be a pediatric surgeon,” Chloe said. “I’m actually thinking about trauma.”

            “Really?” Beca asked, surprised. “You think you can handle trauma?”

            Chloe nodded. “I do, yes.”  
            Beca gestured to the pager on Chloe’s waist. “I’m not talking about having that thing. You’ll basically be dealing with suturing for most of the day. I have an appendectomy today. You can scrub in for it. If you do well, I’ll let you scrub in on my next big surgery.”

            “Seriously?” Chloe beamed as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. She could do an appendectomy. Those were considered easy surgeries.

            “Don’t bounce,” Beca said as she left the cafeteria. “I liked you better yesterday when you were afraid.”

            Chloe’s trauma pager went off and she quickly pulled it from her waist. “I have to go.” She took off towards the emergency room.

            Beca smirked and sipped her coffee. Chloe had no idea what she was in for today. She remembered when she had been given the trauma pager as an intern. She had wanted to break it.

 

           

            Chloe finished giving stitches to a woman in her twenties who had cut her arm. “All done. Ten stitches. I’ll get a nurse to wrap it for you and then you’ll be able to go home.” Chloe got up and asked a nurse to finish up for her before she decided to get in a few minutes of downtime. She just hoped her pager would stop going off every five minutes for that to happen. She still had an hour before her surgery with Beca and she was looking forward to impressing the brunette.

            As Chloe neared an on-call room, she could make out the faint sound of singing. She stuck her ear to the door and listened to someone singing _Titanium_ quite beautifully. Curiosity got the best of her and she opened the door to compliment the person. She was beyond surprised to see Beca sitting on one of the beds in the room as she sang and read a medical journal.

            Beca looked up from the journal to see who had interrupted her. “Did you need something, Beale?”

            Chloe entered the room and closed the door. “No, sorry. I just wanted to rest for a bit.” She sat down on the bed in the other corner of the room. “You have a beautiful voice. I love that song.”

            “Dude, I’m trying to read.” Beca held up the medical journal.

            “I’ll stay quiet.” Chloe laid down on the bed. “You can keep singing.”

            “There are other on-call rooms,” Beca pointed out.            

            “This one has two beds,” Chloe stated.

            Beca decided to not argue with the redhead. She went back to reading and couldn’t help the small smile that formed on her lips when Chloe began to sing _Titanium._ “I thought you said you’d stay quiet.”

            “What made you want to be a doctor?” Chloe asked, ignoring Beca’s comment.

            Deciding she wasn’t going to get anymore reading done, Beca closed the book. “Just felt like something I should do I guess.”

            Chloe knew there was more to that than Beca was saying but she let it go. “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. I’m guessing you have too since you started so young. There’s just something about helping people and saving lives that makes me feel whole. What made you choose trauma?”

            Beca rested the back of her head against the wall. “I started my internship one hundred percent sure I was going into cardio. There was an accident that left twenty plus people injured. It was chaotic. I saved four lives that day. Making the right calls when a trauma patient first comes in is so vital and I’m good at it. I’m great at handling chaos.”

            “Why at such a young age?” Chloe asked, curiously. “Did you even have a chance to be a kid?”

            Beca didn’t respond. Her whole life growing up had practically revolved around being a doctor.

            “Well, I know your dad’s a doctor,” Chloe continued. “What does your mom do?”

            “She’s dead,” Beca responded, nonchalantly.

            “Oh, sorry,” Chloe quickly said. “I-,”

            “It’s fine,” Beca cut her off. “I was ten when she died.” She looked over at the redhead. “Are either of your parents doctors?”

            “Nope. My mom is a business woman and my dad is a professor.” Chloe bit her bottom lip. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

            “How personal?” Beca asked.

            “I was just wondering about your dad.”

            “What about him?”

            “I heard you two don’t get along. I was just wondering why that was.”

            “Too personal.” Beca moved so that she was lying down. “Now stop talking.”

            Chloe stared at the trauma surgeon for a brief moment before lying down as well. She had managed to stay silent for a few minutes before she found herself speaking without thinking about her words first. “I saw you leave the bar last night with someone.”

            Beca sighed and kept her eyes closed. “And?”

            Chloe turned her head to look at Beca. “Are one-night stands your thing?”

            “My thing?” Beca repeated.

            “You know, something you do,” Chloe clarified.

            “Yeah, sure,” Beca said, uninterested in this particular conversation. “I just like relieving the stress of my day with a pretty face. Some people smoke, some take a nice bath. I like sex. Is that a problem?”

            Chloe felt that annoying pang in her chest. “No. I doubt it’s as satisfying as being with someone you care about, but to each their own.”

            Beca smirked, her eyes remaining closed. “You are aware we had a one-night stand together, right? You came to me, you asked me to leave with you.”

            “Yeah, I know,” Chloe said, sheepishly. “That’s not something I usually do. You were my first one-night stand.”

            Beca opened her eyes and looked over at Chloe. She smirked as she sat up on her elbows. “I popped your one-night stand cherry?”

            Chloe rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately.”

            “Why unfortunately?” Beca’s smirk was still plastered on her face. “You were quite vocal about how much you were enjoying my company.”

            “We’re not supposed to be talking about this.”

            “You’re the one that brought it up,” Beca said, amused.

            Chloe looked at the time and gestured towards the door. “We should get ready for that appendectomy.”

            Beca got up from the bed and made her way to the door. She opened it and gestured for Chloe to walk through it first. “You know if people see us leaving an on-call room together, they’re going to jump to conclusions.”

            Chloe looked around in a panic. She hadn’t thought about that beforehand. She was relieved when she didn’t see anyone paying attention to them.

            Beca chuckled to herself as she walked down the hallway. “Alright, let’s go do this surgery, Beale. I hope you don’t disappoint.”

            “I won’t,” Chloe said, confidently.

           

 

            Chloe was standing in the operating room watching as the area where the incision on the patient would be made was being cleaned with antiseptic solutions.

            Beca glanced up at the gallery and noticed Chloe’s friends and several others watching them. “Your friends are here.”

            Chloe glanced up at the gallery and was surprised to see the seats packed. She hadn’t told Stacie and Jesse about the surgery but they had obviously found out from someone. She didn’t want a gallery full of people during her first surgery. It was a bit nerve-wracking.

            Once the nurse was finished cleaning the skin, Beca looked up at Chloe. “Alright, Beale. Go for it.”

            Chloe was sure there was a smirk in place behind Beca’s surgical mask. “What?”

            “You’re doing this whole surgery. Make the incision,” Beca clarified. “It’s a-,”

            “Two-to-three inch incision,” Chloe finished for her.  “Scalpel,” she said as she held out her hand. Her heart skipped a beat as the scalpel was placed in her hand. She placed her fingers slightly above where she needed to make the incision and slowly made the cut. Once finished, Chloe looked up at Beca.

            “Do you know what to do now?” Beca asked.

            “Yes,” Chloe replied.

            “Then do it.”

            As Chloe separated the abdominal muscles, she realized that her heart was hammering in her chest. She couldn’t quite tell if it was from nerves or excitement. Chloe located the appendix and freed it from the large bowel.

            Beca watched on, impressed that Chloe hadn’t needed to ask her for help yet. Most interns would have asked several questions by now.

            Chloe was almost to the end of the surgery. She placed a pre-tied suture to the base of the appendix and tightened it before cutting the appendix free.

            “Great,” Beca said. “Now invert the stump towards the cecum.”

            Chloe began to do just that and she was feeling great. She had removed the appendix and she was about to successfully finish her surgery but then a ripping sound was heard.

            “You ripped the purse strings. Now we have a bleeder. What do you do?” Beca asked.         

            “I, um.” Chloe’s thoughts were bouncing around in her head and she couldn’t grab on to a clear one.

            “Quickly. Think. What do you need to do?” Beca demanded, sternly.

            “BP’s dropping,” a nurse warned.

            Chloe stood frozen, not making any effort to continue on with the surgery.

            “Now, Beale. You need to start the suction and find the purse strings before she bleeds to death.” Beca gave Chloe a few seconds to do something but when it became clear the intern had choked, she grew agitated. She pushed the woman aside and quickly took over the operation. “Get the hell out of my OR!” She snapped at Chloe.

            Up in the gallery, Stacie and Jesse quickly made their way out to check on their friend.


	4. Chapter 4

  **Chapter Four**

            Stacie and Jesse caught up to Chloe just as she entered an on-call room. They quickly entered the room and closed the door. Chloe plopped down onto the edge of the bed and rested her elbows on her knees as she covered her face with her hands.

            “Chloe,” Stacie began.

            “I can’t believe I froze up like that,” Chloe said as she tried not to cry. “And everyone saw.”

            “You did so well, though, before that,” Stacie said. “You freakin’ took out an appendix all on your own for the first time.”

            “I’m sure most interns never made it as far as you did,” Jesse added.

            Chloe wiped away the tears that had managed to escape her eyes. “Doctor Mitchell probably thinks I’m an idiot now. She’ll never want me on her service.”

            “Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Jesse said. “We’re interns. We’re bound to make mistakes, right?”

            “I just need a few minutes,” Chloe said.

            “Yeah, of course,” Stacie said. “We’ll be around if you need us.”  

            Stacie and Jesse left the room and began to walk down the hall to return to the gallery. When they saw Beca exiting the room though, they knew the surgery was over.

            Beca spotted the two interns and removed her medical gown, pushing it into a waste container before she approached them. “Where is Beale?”

            Stacie could hear the irritation in the doctor’s voice and didn’t want her anywhere near Chloe while the redhead was in a fragile state. “We don’t know.”

            “Want to answer me with the truth this time, Conrad?” Beca asked.

            Stacie shrugged. “We haven’t seen her.”

            Beca looked at Jesse who quickly averted her gaze. “Swanson where is she?” Jesse kept his eyes on the floor. “Five… four….”

            Jesse looked up at the attending. “What are you counting down for? What happens when you get to zero?”

            “Three,” Beca continued. She didn’t have the patience for this.

            “On-call room,” Jesse blurted out as he pointed to the room where Chloe was.

            Beca walked past them to the door and Stacie slapped the man upside his head. “What the hell?”

            “She scares me, okay?” Jesse said as he rubbed the back of his head.

            Beca entered the on-call room causing Chloe to raise her face from her hands to see who had walked in. When she saw Beca, she quickly stood up ready to accept whatever punishment she was about to receive.

            “I know you’re upset with me for making a mistake,” Chloe began. “I’m sorry. I’ll-,”

            I’m not upset with you for making a mistake,” Beca interrupted. “Interns mess up. I messed up when I was an intern. That’s how we learn. That’s how we know what to do for next time. What you can’t do is choke. We are doctors. We have people who put their lives in our hands. We can’t panic. If you can’t handle the intensity of it, then this isn’t the career for you. Do you understand?”

            “Yes, Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe said.

            “And make sure all signs of you crying are gone before you leave this room,” Beca added.

            “Okay.” Chloe wiped her eyes and let out a breath.

            Beca went to open the door but stopped, leaving her hand to linger on the handle. She turned her head and looked at Chloe who had sat back down on the edge of the bed. “You did a pretty good job in there. Most interns don’t make it as far as you did.”

            Before Chloe could say anything back, Beca had left the room. She smiled to herself and laid down on the bed as she waited for her eyes to be less puffy and red from crying.

 

 

            Later that day, Chloe was changing in the locker room when Stacie rushed inside. “Hey, Posen’s doing a surgery that I really want to scrub in on and she said I could-,”

            “No worries,” Chloe cut her off. “I can call a cab or something.”

            “I can give you my keys,” Stacie offered.

            Chloe waved her off. “No, don’t worry about it.”

            “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said before quickly leaving to scrub in on the surgery with Aubrey.

            Chloe grabbed her purse and ran a hand through her hair before leaving the locker room. She made her way towards the nurses’ station and smiled at the woman there. “Hey, sorry to bug you but do you think you could call me a cab.”

            “Sure, no problem,” the nurse said.

            “It’s okay. I’ll take her home.”

            Chloe was surprised to hear Beca’s voice. She turned her head and saw the brunette walking towards her. “It’s okay. I can take a cab.”

            “I’m going home too. I can drop you off. It’s not a problem.” Beca began to walk off towards the exit and Chloe stood there for a second before following behind her.

            “Thanks,” Chloe said. “I appreciate it.”

            “Uh huh,” Beca said as they exited the hospital.

            Chloe followed her quietly until she reached Beca’s car. “You really don’t have to take me home.”

            Beca opened the car door. “Just get into the car, Beale.” She got into the vehicle and started the engine.

            “Do you need me to tell you where I live?” Chloe asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

            Beca smirked. “Nope, I remember.” Beca hooked her iPod to the car stereo and selected a playlist before she pulled out of the parking lot.

 

             

            Beca parked outside of Chloe's apartment building and the redhead looked over at her. "Thanks again."

            "Yeah, no problem," Beca said.

            Chloe undid her seatbelt and before she had even fully formed a thought, words were leaving her mouth. "You should come in. I'm going to have dinner when I get inside and I didn't see you in the cafeteria today."

            Beca smiled. "You want me to have dinner with you? Isn't that against your "let's be professional" rant?"

            "It wasn't a rant," Chloe huffed. "And you've got to be hungry. You'll probably go home and just sleep. You're one of the doctors that I'll be learning from so I need you guys at your best. That means being well-fed." Okay, so that was a lame excuse. Chloe really just wanted to learn more about her attending.

            “I thought I was a bitch,” Beca said. “Why do you want to spend time with me?”

            Chloe sighed. “You’re not a bitch. You’re just… not nice most of the time. So, do you want to come in?”

            Beca should've said no but she found herself wanting to spend time with the intern. "Sure, but what about your roommate?"

            "She's got a surgery with Posen," Chloe replied. "She won't be home for a bit." She got out of the car and headed towards the building.

            Beca followed her up to the third floor of the building and they stopped at a door marked 3B. Chloe unlocked the door and pushed it open for Beca to enter through first.

            "I don't know if you got a good look at the place before since we were... busy," Chloe said as she walked in behind the brunette. "It's not much."

            "It's enough," Beca said as she glanced around. "It's nice."

            Chloe smiled. "Thanks." She gestured towards the living room. "You can have a seat while I get us something to eat. I have leftover mac and cheese from last night."

            "That works for me." Beca looked around the apartment instead of sitting down. There were lots of pictures decorating the place. She picked up a picture frame from the table behind the couch. "Have you and Conrad known each other long?"

            "Since freshman year of college," Chloe answered. "That girl is a handful but I love her."

            Beca placed the photo down and looked at another one of Chloe and Stacie with Jesse. "How about Swanson?"

            "Same," Chloe replied. "Known him since freshman year. He's a sweetheart."

            "Think you'll still be good friends when one of you doesn't make it through the program?" Beca looked over at Chloe.

            Chloe put a bowl into the microwave and turned to face Beca. "We'll all make it. I don't care about statistics on this one."

            Beca smiled and nodded her head. "Okay." She sat down on one of the couches and watched Chloe as she moved around the kitchen. She honestly had never laid eyes on anyone so gorgeous.

            "Do you want a drink?" Chloe asked.

            "Sure," Beca replied.

            Chloe grabbed two beers from the fridge and walked one over to Beca.

            "Thanks." Beca's fingers brushed against her own as she took the drink causing the redhead to internally lose her cool. Her heart skipped a beat and she cursed herself for her reaction over a simple touch.

            Almost an hour and a half later, Beca and Chloe had finished their dinner and were talking about anything and everything medical-related.  

            “Do you have any embarrassing stories from when you were an intern?” Chloe asked.     

            Beca sipped the same beer she had been given an hour ago and shook her head. “Nope, I’m pretty much awesome if you hadn’t noticed.”

            Chloe rolled her eyes. “Come on, there has to be something.”

            “There is,” Beca admitted. “Doesn’t mean I want to share it.”

            “I won’t tell anyone,” Chloe said. “I promise.”

            Beca turned her beer in her hand and sighed. “I was only four days in and I was supposed to be keeping an eye on a patient. Making sure her vitals were stable and whatnot. Another attending told me to take care of something real quick so I left the room. I was paged a few minutes later because the patient was seizing. The nurses kept yelling that they needed me to tell them what to do. I was the doctor in charge at that moment and I froze up.” Beca sipped her beer before continuing. “Her heart stopped and she needed to be resuscitated. After I brought her back, the attending… my father, came in and ripped me a new one. I ended up throwing up outside. It was all a bit much for me, I guess.” Beca set her beer down on the coffee table.

            “Did you ever have another moment like that?” Chloe asked, curiously.

            Beca shook her head. “Never. Nurses and a few doctors didn’t take me seriously after that. They thought it was an age thing. A few of them wanted me kicked from the program. When I remained, they thought I was getting special treatment because my dad’s the chief of surgery.”

            “People have nothing but great things to say about you,” Chloe stated. “You’re respected.”

            “I had to prove myself every day to gain it. It was exhausting but I did it.” Beca rested her head on the back of the couch. “You have to be tough to make it as a doctor. I hope you can be.”

            “I am,” Chloe assured her. “Being a doctor is all I’ve ever wanted.” They were silent for a bit and Chloe found herself smiling. “You know you’re not that bad outside of the hospital setting.”

            Beca smirked and tilted her head to look at Chloe. “Don’t tell people that. They’ll try to befriend me or something.”

            Chloe chuckled. “I won’t utter a word.” She liked Beca like this. Relaxed. She was much less intense.

            Beca checked the time on her phone and sighed. “I should get going.”

            “Not yet.” Chloe moved closer to the brunette.

            Beca raised her head up from the couch. “What are you-” Beca didn’t get to finish her sentence because Chloe’s lips connected with hers. She brought her hand up to the side of Chloe’s face and deepened the kiss.

            Things escalated from there and the two made-out all the way to Chloe’s bedroom. No words were exchanged but both knew that they shouldn’t be doing this.

            When they were undressed and in bed, Beca kissed Chloe along her jaw and down her neck. Chloe bucked her hips, urging Beca to touch her.

            “Are you sure you want this?” Beca raised herself to look into Chloe’s eyes.  

            Chloe pulled Beca down, kissing her hard on the lips as she spread her legs further apart. Beca trailed her hand down between Chloe’s legs and watched the euphoric look on the redhead’s face as her fingers pressed into her.

            Chloe moaned out and scratched her nails along Beca’s back. Sure she’d regret it in the morning, but right now, she just wanted to feel Beca against her.  

           

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

**Chapter Five**

            Chloe exited the locker room with Stacie and Jesse and they went to go meet up with Amy. She had woken up in the middle of the night to Beca still being in her bed. It had been nice. When she woke up again after falling asleep for two more hours, the doctor had high-tailed it. She didn't know why she was letting it bother her. It wasn't a big deal. They were two consenting adults who had their second one-night stand. Nothing to make a fuss about, right? She was sure Beca wasn't even thinking about it.

            When the interns stopped in front of Amy, the blonde smiled happily at them. "Aw, you guys look exhausted and miserable. You're on your way to being real doctors. So we're going back to basics today. You can't be doctors if you can't do the basics."

            "We know the basics," Stacie said. "Why do we have to waste our time relearning what we already know?"

            "Practice makes perfect." Beca approached the group and looked at Amy. "I'll take that one for the day," she nodded towards Stacie. "You don't mind do you?"

            Amy grinned knowing that Stacie would be in for a long day. "All yours."

            Beca turned her gaze to Stacie. "You will be watching over my patients." She handed a clipboard to Stacie. "I was on my way to check on Mr. Rivers. He's in post-op. Page me if you need to but I'd prefer it if you didn't need me."

            Beca's eyes briefly swept over Chloe who looked away sheepishly. She began to walk away and smirked when she heard Stacie call out to her. "What am I supposed to be doing exactly?"

            "Make sure no one dies," Beca replied as she headed for the elevator.

            "Great," Stacie muttered.

            Amy gestured towards Chloe and Jesse. "You two, let's go. We have a lot of work to do."

            "Good luck," Jesse said to Stacie as he walked away.

            "You'll be fine," Chloe assured her. "Just don't piss her off. That's not fun." Chloe moved to catch up with her resident, leaving Stacie to handle being on Beca's service.

 

 

 

            When the elevator doors opened, Beca was glad to see Aubrey. She needed to vent and those moments were only reserved for her best friend. "Can we talk?" She asked as she stepped on the elevator.

            Aubrey looked at her suspiciously. "What'd you do?"

            "Nothing." Beca pressed the floor number she needed to go to on the elevator. "I just need your opinion on something."

            "I'm listening." Aubrey turned to face the brunette.

            "I had a one-night stand with someone... for the second time."

            Aubrey grinned at the doctor. "You have a crush on someone."

            "What? How'd you come to that opinion with that one sentence?"

            "You never sleep with the same person twice," Aubrey stated. "Ever. So you must like this woman that you've decided was worth a round two."

            "Maybe I just think she's really good in bed," Beca tried.

            "Don't try to make it seem like it’s anything else," Aubrey said. "I think it's cute. You should venture out and start dating. Besides, you weren't home when I checked in at five this morning. You obviously spent the night with your second-night stand. Beca Mitchell would have to be pretty comfortable to do that."

            The elevator doors opened and Beca stepped off. "Beca Mitchell is done with this conversation."

            "We're talking about this later!" Aubrey yelled.

            Arizona Robbins, the peds attending, looked up from the nurses' station. "What's being talked about later?"

            "Beca has a crush," Aubrey said as the doors slid closed.

            Beca rolled her eyes and looked at the doctor before her. "Ignore her."

            "You have a crush?" Arizona grinned. "What's her name? Does she work here? Callie said she saw you with a hot redheaded intern. Is it her?"

            "An intern?" Beca scoffed. "Of course not."

            "Well, Callie said you two would be cute together," Arizona said, nonchalantly. "It's taboo, yeah, but whatever. If you like someone, then give it a shot. This hospital is your only dating pool. You spend most of your time here and another doctor would understand your schedule. You can't date normal people. Take my word for it."

            "I never said it was an intern," Beca stated. "And I don't date in general. I'm too busy for that. But anyway, you wanted a consult?"

            "Yeah, you're early," Arizona said.

            "An intern is looking after my patients for me," Beca explained. "She'll page me if necessary."

            "Sounds good to me," Arizona said before walking with Beca to a patient's room.

 

 

 

            Stacie approached Amy in the hallway hesitantly. "Um, hey, Amy. One of Beca's patients, Willa Nielson, needs a central line. Her veins are shot to hell so...yeah."

            "Okay, go for it," Amy said.

            Stacie scratched the top of her head. "Yeah, that's the thing. I don't know how to do one."

            Amy smiled, which unnerved the intern. "Why don't you page Beca?"

            "Beca?" Stacie repeated. "She's busy with other doctor stuff and you're right here. Can't you just show me real quick, please?”

            “I don’t know,” Amy said. “I’m pretty busy. I’m sure Beca wouldn’t mind.”

            Stacie put on her best puppy dog eyes. “If I go to Mitchell, she'll think I'm incompetent and she won't want to work with me. I'll get booted from the program and my dreams of being a doctor will be over."

            "Calm down. Geez, you interns are so dramatic this year. Show me to the patient."

            Stacie let out a breath of relief before heading to Mrs. Nielson's room with Amy.

 

 

 

            Once done on the pediatric floor, Beca headed back down to find Stacie to make sure everything was going smoothly. As she walked through the halls, she smirked when she saw Chloe walking her way. "Doctor Beale, a word."

            Chloe gestured down the hallway behind Beca. “Sorry, I’ve got to head to the pit.”

            Beca smirked. “You can’t avoid me forever.”

            Chloe sighed. “I’m not trying to avoid you. I’m just busy.” She glanced around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “Last night was a mistake. I was… drunk and-,”

            “Really?” Beca cut her off. “You can’t play the drunk card. You had one beer that you hardly touched.”

            Chloe folded her arms across her chest. “You seduced me.”

            Beca laughed. “I seduced you?” The attending pulled down the neck of her scrubs, revealing a hickey right above her right breast. “You basically jumped me.”

            Chloe swatted at Beca’s hand so that she would stop showing her hickey. “Stop, someone’s going to see,” she hissed.

            “You better get to the pit,” Beca said. “I have to go make sure your friend knows what she’s doing.”

            “She does. She’ll be a great doctor one day. Don’t be mean to her.”

            “I wasn’t aware I was taking orders from you,” Beca said, amused. “I mean, I was last night but that was under different circumstances.”

            “I’m walking away,” Chloe said as she moved past Beca.

            Amy was walking down the hall and smiled when she noticed Beca. “Hey, Conrad hasn’t killed anyone yet.”

            Beca smiled, reluctantly pulling her attention away from Chloe’s retrieving form. “Great. Thanks, Amy. Where is she?”

            “Just around the corner,” Amy replied. “Hey, she’s a good one.”

            Beca nodded in understanding before she headed around the corner to find Stacie. She spotted the brunette at the nurses’ station flirting with the woman there. She cleared her throat and the intern quickly turned around.

            “Doctor Mitchell!” Stacie’s eyes widened. “I’ve done everything. Everyone’s alive. No one came close to dying.”

            Beca opened her mouth to reply but her pager went off. “Follow me,” she said to Stacie before taking off down the hall.

            They reached the ambulance bay just as a man was being taken out of the back of the ambulance.

            One of the EMTs looked at Beca as they wheeled the man inside. “GSW to the abdomen. He dropped his gun and it went off.”

            “Wow, idiot, much?” Stacie commented.

            Beca quirked a brow at the brunette disapprovingly. “A little sensitivity here, Doctor Conrad. Come on,” Beca’s façade dropped as she smirked. “Let’s make sure he lives so he can be embarrassed about this.”

            Stacie’s eyes widened in excitement. “You’re letting me scrub in? What about the whole “back to basics” thing?”

            “So you don’t want to do it?” Beca asked as they made their way down the hall. “I can get someone else.”

            “No, I’m totally in!” Stacie exclaimed, happy to have a chance to prove herself to the doctor in the OR.

 

 

 

            Chloe had just finished stitching up a guy’s leg and was having a look around the ER when she noticed a young woman rubbing her temples. She walked over to her and looked at her with concern. “Are you alright?”

            The woman smiled. “Yeah, everything’s just all float-y.”

            Chloe picked up the chart hanging from the end of the bed and read it over. She placed it back and pulled out her flashlight out of her pocket. “Can you follow this light with your eyes for me?” After checking her eyes, Chloe placed the pen back in her pocket and smiled at the woman. “I’m going to raise your arms, okay?” Chloe lifted the woman’s arms so that they were stretched out in front of her. “I’m going to let go and I want you to keep them up, okay?” Chloe released the woman’s arms but the left side slowly began to descend. She smiled reassuringly at the woman as she spoke. “Just to make sure everything is okay, I’m going to order a CT scan for you, okay?”

            “Oh, I’m fine,” the woman assured her. “Doctor Allen already looked me over.”

            “I’ll be right back.” Chloe walked over to a nurse. “Hey, who’s Doctor Allen?”

            “An egotistical resident.” The nurse gestured towards a man who was talking and laughing with an attractive patient. “Good luck.”

            Chloe went over to the man, hoping this wouldn’t go as badly as she had a feeling it would. “Excuse me, Doctor Allen.”

            Bumper Allen was getting ready to shoo away who he thought was a nurse but then smiled at the gorgeous redhead before him. He excused himself from his patient and walked a few feet away with the woman. “Yes…?”

            “Doctor Beale,” Chloe informed him. “Miranda Reid needs a CT scan. I just thought I’d let you know so that you can order one.”

            “She’s fine,” Bumper assured her. “She’s just got a migraine. The medicine should kick in soon. She’ll be fine. So what’s your name?”

            “Doctor Beale,” Chloe restated. “And I really believe that Miss Reid needs a CT scan.”

            “She’s my patient,” Bumper said, irritated at having an intern telling him what to do. “I’ll take care of her. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

            Chloe rolled her eyes and looked around until she spotted someone with more leverage than her. Doctor Posen. She quickly made her way over to the blonde. “Doctor Posen.”

            “Yes, Beale?” Aubrey asked.

            Chloe explained the situation to the woman and hoped that she would do something about it.

            Aubrey’s pager went off and she glanced down at it before giving Chloe back her attention. “Order the CT scan. Drop my name if anyone gives you a hard time. I’ve got to go.” Aubrey was impressed by the redhead’s initiative and made a mental note to check in on her later.

            Chloe went over to Jesse who was trying to convince an old man that he couldn’t leave the hospital without being properly treated. “I need a favor.”

            “I’m a little busy with grumpy here,” Jesse sighed.

            Chloe smiled at the old man. “Hi, you’re not leaving are you? That cut on your head looks pretty bad.”

            “It’s nothing,” the man assured her. “I don’t want this guy poking a needle through my head. He looks twelve!”

            “He’s a lot older than that, I promise,” Chloe said. “Doctor Swanson is great. You’re in good hands.” Chloe got an idea and hoped Jesse wouldn’t get too upset with her. “You know what? I’ll get Doctor Allen to come stitch you up.”

            “What?” Jesse looked at Chloe in disbelief.

            Chloe grabbed Jesse by the wrist and pulled him away. “I need that tool to be distracted so I can take his patient to get a CT scan.”

            Jesse frowned. “You’re hijacking his patient?”

            “I’m being a good doctor,” Chloe corrected.

            “I won’t ask questions about it. I didn’t want to deal with that old man anyway. I’ll go ask him to take over.”

            Chloe beamed. “Thank you!”

            “Yeah, yeah. You’ll owe me a beer the next time we’re out,” Jesse said as he made his way over to Doctor Allen.

 

 

            It was almost the end of her shift and Chloe was exhausted but on a high from being involved in saving the life of Miranda Reid. Needing just a few minutes, she made her way to the closest on call room. As she opened the door, she heard a voice behind her.

            “You look like the walking dead.” Beca entered the room before Chloe and sat down on the bed. “Heard you saved a life today. Nice job.”

            Chloe sat down on the bed beside Beca. “I made an enemy in the process.”

            “You saw a problem and did something about it. That woman would’ve continued to bleed into her brain and then it might’ve been too late for anyone to do anything about it. You should be proud. Don’t worry about that jerk.”

            Chloe smiled. “I am proud. I’m glad Doctor Posen was there to listen to me.”

            “And what if she wasn’t?” Beca asked, curiously. “What would you have done?”

            Chloe didn’t even take a second to think about it. “I would’ve gone to you.”

            Beca tried not to smile as she stood up. “What are you doing after your shift?”

            “Going home and crashing,” Chloe replied.

            “Is Stacie giving you a ride home?”

            Chloe shook her head. “We drove in separately today.”

            “How about you come back to my place after your shift is over?” Beca asked. “Aubrey’s spending a few days with Luke. They haven’t been spending enough time together or whatever.”

            Chloe was shocked by this question. “And why would I go over to your place?”

            Beca shrugged. “I just figured you might enjoy my company.”

            “Are you propositioning me?” Chloe asked in disbelief.

            “I don’t want it to be a big deal,” Beca said. “Just... come over if you want. If not, then that’s cool too.” Beca pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “I’m going to check on my patients before I go. I’ll see you later, maybe.” Beca left the room leaving a very confused Chloe behind.

            Chloe unfolded the paper and saw Beca’s address and phone number on it. She would be lying if she said that she wasn’t interested. Chloe sighed and laid down on the bed as she thought about what to do. She loved sex, but didn’t like sleeping around. She didn’t have time to date either. Being Beca’s sex buddy proved to be good a solution to her problem. _But it’s a horrible idea._ The redhead sighed. _She’s an attending and I’m an intern._ She repeated that mantra in her head several times before finally making up her mind on what she was going to do.

 

 

            Beca was sitting in her living room watching a surgery on her TV when there was a knock on her door. She got up and looked through the peephole, surprised to see that Chloe had actually shown up. She opened the door and opened her mouth to speak but Chloe beat her to it.

            “There are going to be rules to this,” Chloe began as she entered the apartment.

            Beca closed the door. “Okay, what kind of rules?”

            “This has to be an exclusive thing,” Chloe began. “If you want to have sex with me, then you can’t go sleeping around with other people. Will that be a problem for you?”

            “Not at all,” Beca replied before leaning in to kiss the redhead.

            Chloe placed her hand on Beca’s chest to stop her actions. “And this doesn’t get out to anyone. It’s between us. I won’t tell my friends and you won’t tell yours.”

            “Perfectly fine with me. Anything else?”

            “This can’t affect our work relationship,” Chloe said.

            “You don’t have to worry about that,” Beca said. “I won’t be any nicer or any meaner than I currently am.”

            “Okay, then I guess we’re doing this,” Chloe breathed out. “You can kiss me now.” She dropped her hand from Beca’s chest and the brunette kissed her. As the two made-out by the front door, the sound from the TV finally registered with Chloe. She broke the kiss and looked over at the television. “What are you watching?”

            “A rare heart surgery that was done to reconstruct a-,”

            “Wait,” Chloe cut her off. “You watch surgeries for fun? You just got off of work.” Chloe moved to sit down on the couch. “Why don’t you watch something entertaining like… _Mean Girls_ or something.”

            “Mean Girls?” Beca repeated. “That sounds like something that will rot my brain.”

            “Well, what’s your favorite movie?” Chloe picked up the remote to turn off the TV.

            “I don’t have one. I was always just too busy studying to be a doctor. I didn’t have time for anything else.”

            “We’re going to have to get you a life outside of the hospital,” Chloe said through a yawn.

            Beca smirked and shook her head. “We can worry about my boring life later. You’re exhausted.”

            “I’m fine.” Chloe said as Beca guided her to her bedroom.

            “Get some sleep.” Beca gestured towards her bed.

            Chloe kicked off her shoes and crawled onto the bed. “Okay but once I’m all rested, we’re totally having amazing sex.”

            “I can’t wait,” Beca said, amused. “Are you hungry or anything? I could whip something together for you.” Beca didn’t receive an answer and smiled when she realized that Chloe had already fallen asleep. After pulling a blanket over the redhead, she stared at her for a few seconds. She brushed a strand of hair from Chloe’s face and admired her beauty before running her finger over an old scar on the woman’s forehead. Deciding she was being weird and needed to get away from the intern, Beca went into the living room and laid down on the couch to get in a few hours of sleep as well.    


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 

             Chloe exited Beca's room and made her way to the living room where she found the other woman sleeping. She frowned when she noticed the crease in Beca's forehead and how tight her fist was closed, nails digging into the palm of her hand. She knelt down and gently placed a hand on Beca's shoulder. "Beca. Beca wake up."

            Beca gasped as her eyes shot open. Gaining her bearings once she realized where she was, she relaxed and looked at Chloe. “Hey.”

            "You okay?" Chloe asked, concerned. "It looked like you were having a nightmare."

            Beca sat up and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm fine. It was nothing."

            Not wanting to push, Chloe sat down beside Beca and changed the subject. "Why'd you sleep out here?"

            "I wasn't sure if it'd be appropriate for me to sleep beside you. I was trying to be polite or whatever."

            Chloe laughed. "Now you're worried about what's appropriate? It would've been fine and probably a lot more comfortable for you."

            "Guess I'll remember for next time." She reached for her cell phone and looked at the redhead. "Are you hungry? I'm craving pizza."

            "Pizza's good." Chloe remained silent as Beca ordered the food. She took note of the medical books stacked on the coffee table and wondered if Beca's entire life really revolved around her work. That had to be a lonely life. Once Beca was done on the phone, Chloe decided to try and delve into her personal life. "So Doctor Posen and Doctor Evans are your best friends?"

            "That's right," Beca replied. "Two of the only people who didn't think me being in medical school was a joke. They've stuck with me through a lot. I'm not the easiest person to deal with when I'm in doctor mode."

            Chloe laughed. "Oh, trust me. I'm aware of that. I still fear you throwing me on rectal exam duty if I piss you off."

            Beca smirked. "I won't do it again. I don't like repeating the same method of torture twice on the same person."

            "Great, I can breathe easy now," Chloe joked. "So tell me about your dad. Is he as intense as you?"

            "Very," Beca nodded. "Being a doctor is his life. He's not much of a father. Do your parents love having a doctor in the family?"

            Sensing that Beca wanted to change the subject, Chloe decided to break away from family talk. "They brag about it all the time. So besides watching your super fun surgery videos, what do you do on an off day?"

            Beca shrugged. "Whatever Aubrey and Luke drag me to if they can talk me into going."

            "You played some amazing songs when you drove me home the other night."

            Beca smiled. "I get my musical side from my mother. She loved music. She would sing no matter what she was doing. And she loved to dance. She was a dance instructor."

            Chloe was surprised that the brunette revealed that bit of information. “How did she die?”

            “I, um… I don’t like talking about it,” Beca said.

            “It’s okay. Sorry,” Chloe said. She gestured to the remote on the coffee table. “Can we watch a movie? I haven’t seen one in weeks.”

            “Yeah, sure. I’d prefer it not be a cheesy romance movie, though.”

            Chloe grinned. “Those are the best kind.”

            Beca scrunched up her face in disagreement. “They’re stupid.”

            “Yeah? And why do you think that?”

            “It’s all predictable and lame,” Beca explained.

            “That’s not a valid argument,” Chloe argued.

            “Valid enough.”

            Chloe picked up the remote and turned on the TV. “I’ll find something that even you might like.”

            Beca relaxed on the couch as Chloe tried to find a movie for them to watch. She really didn’t care if she didn’t like the movie. She just enjoyed being around Chloe.  

           

           

           

            Once the credits for the movie began to roll, Chloe looked over at Beca to gauge her reaction. "So what'd you think?"

            "Decent-ish, but I totally called everything that was going to happen."

            Chloe laughed. "I guess decent-ish is better than bad. What do you want to do now?" Beca simply stared at Chloe without saying a word causing the redhead to furrow her brows. "What?"

            "Sorry, your eyes are stunning," Beca said, sincerely. "I like looking into them."

            Chloe rolled her eyes playfully. "I thought you'd have better lines than that."

            Beca leaned forward, pressing her lips to Chloe's. Chloe kissed back, trailing her hands up Beca's shirt. The two made-out and groped for minutes before eventually moving into the bedroom. They were now undressed and Beca was kissing Chloe down her stomach. She pushed Chloe's legs apart and settled down between them before attaching her lips to the woman's clit. Chloe's hand shot to Beca's head as she let out a series of inaudible words.

            Beca pushed two fingers into Chloe and moved back up her body as she thrust in and out of her. "Open your eyes."

            Chloe did as she was told and bit her lower lip as Beca thrust into her. Her eyes began to close but when she noticed Beca slow down, she opened them. "Don't stop."

            "Keep your eyes open then." Beca pressed her thumb onto Chloe's clit and began to rub circles on it. She watched Chloe struggle to keep her eyes open as the pleasure moved through her. She wouldn't last much longer. Beca moved back down her body and kissed her clit before sucking it into her mouth. That was it. Chloe lost it. She let out a loud moan with Beca's name on the end of it. The brunette smirked and continued her actions until Chloe pushed at her shoulders.

            "Fuck," Chloe breathed out. "You're way too good at that."

            Beca chuckled. "Is that a complaint?"

            "Definitely not," Chloe assured her before moving on top of the brunette. "Your turn," she said before leaning down to kiss Beca.

 

 

            Half an hour later after a second round, Chloe wanted to take a nap. She was already half asleep when she curled into Beca's side and draped an arm over her waist.

            Beca laughed. "Comfortable?

            "Mmhm," Chloe hummed out, tiredly.

            Beca stayed still as Chloe fell asleep and once she was sure the redhead was out, she began to run her fingers through Chloe's hair as she waited for sleep to overtake her as well. She didn't usually sleep this much but she was comfortable and it was a new experience falling asleep next to someone that she didn't want to run away from after sex. Closing her eyes, Beca fell asleep to thoughts of what she was getting herself into with Chloe.

 

 

 

            Chloe awoke an hour later and smiled at the warm body against hers. She removed her hand from around Beca's waist and smiled at the sleeping woman. Beca looked peaceful this time around and Chloe was glad the doctor wasn’t being plagued by another nightmare.

            "I can feel you staring. It's weird," she mumbled.

            Chloe poked her in the side. "I wasn't staring. I was contemplating waking you up."

            Beca opened her eyes and smiled at the woman. "Well, I'm up." She sat up and began to trail kisses along Chloe's neck. The redhead bit her lower lip as to not say anything that would ruin their agreement like "this is nice" or "I could get used to being with you like this." Both of those were definite no’s. 

            “I have to get going,” Chloe said, reluctantly. “I can’t use the “I fell asleep in an on-call room” lie if I’m gone from my apartment all day. I’m sure I already have a bunch of texts from Stacie.”

            Beca grinned. “Okay, I’ll see you at work.”

            Chloe got up from bed and dressed slowly, fully aware that Beca was watching her. Once done, she turned to face the brunette. “Have a good day. Do something not work-related. It’ll make your down time a lot more relaxing.”

            “I’ll see if anything else catches my interest,” Beca said as she moved to get out of bed. “I can walk you out.”

            “Don’t worry about it. See you later, Beca.” Chloe left the apartment and Beca slipped on shorts and a t-shirt before going to lock the front door. She then grabbed her iPod and her Bluetooth speaker from the living room. “Something not work related.” Beca bit her bottom lip as she tried to think of something to do. Sighing in defeat, she turned on her music as she headed back into her room. She grabbed her medical book from off the nightstand and got onto her bed preparing to spend the next few hours reading.

 

 

            The next day at Barden Hospital, Amy was talking to the interns when she saw Beca approaching them.

            “You paged me?” She said to Amy.

            “Yep, the Chief wants to which intern you think shows the most promise so far so they can scrub in on a kidney transplant with him tomorrow.”

            Chloe felt herself getting excited by the idea of scrubbing in on a surgery with the Chief of Surgery. _This is awesome. Scrubbing in with the Chief of-_

            “Conrad looks like you’ll be assisting in a kidney transplant,” she said before walking away.

            _Wait. What?_ Chloe had to clench her jaw shut as to not say anything. She was happy for her best friend. Really. She just thought that she was doing really well and that Beca had taken notice of that.

            “Don’t let it get to your head,” Amy said to a grinning Stacie. “Now let’s move. You all have rounds.”

            Chloe followed the resident but she couldn’t stop thinking about why Beca didn’t choose her.

 

 

            Chloe was heading to an on-call room with several books in order to research for a clinical case that the interns had been presented with by a neurosurgeon attending, Doctor Shepherd. As she neared the room, she saw Beca reading a clipboard as she walked in her direction. “Hey.”

            Beca looked up from her clipboard and saw Chloe. “Hey, I’m busy. I have-,”

            “It’ll be quick,” Chloe cut her off. “I was just wondering why you didn’t give me that surgery. Do you not think I have potential?”

            Beca folded her arms, hugging the clipboard to her chest as she spoke to Chloe. “I know you’ll be an amazing doctor, Beale. I recommended Conrad for that surgery because as of right now, she has impressed me the most in the OR. She did mention the gsw surgery to you, right?”

            “She did,” Chloe replied.

            “Well, she did great and I was impressed. There will be other surgeries and other opportunities for you. Don’t get all mopey about this.”

            Chloe frowned. “I’m not moping. I just wanted to know how I could improve if you thought I needed to.”

            Beca smirked. “You could improve by not moping.”

            “I am not moping!” Chloe huffed.

            “Yeah, and I’m not busy.” Beca said, sarcastically before walking away.

            “What are you not moping about?” Stacie asked as she approached her friend.

            Chloe sighed. “You getting the surgery.”

            Stacie laughed. “Are you jealous? It’s totally cool if you are. I’d be jealous if I were you.”

            Chloe rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder to Stacie’s. “I’m not. I’m happy for you. I just wanted to know if Mitchell thought I was a crappy doctor.”

            “There are three of us and she could only choose one,” Stacie stated. “Her not choosing you doesn’t mean she thinks you suck as a doctor. It just means she thinks I’m better.”

            Chloe laughed. “You’re going to be bragging about this all week aren’t you?”

            “Most definitely,” Stacie confirmed. “Anyway, why do you care what Mitchell thinks? I thought you couldn’t stand her.”      

            “She’s one of the best,” Chloe explained. “And I’m pretty sure about going into trauma. I want to learn from her.”

            “Well if it makes you feel any better, I heard from Jesse that the nurses think that you’re her favorite intern.”

            Chloe grinned. “Really?”

            “Don’t you two have work to be doing?” Doctor Posen asked as she approached the two. “Go save a life, stop standing around!” Chloe and Stacie rushed off to continue what they were doing before they had been distracted and Aubrey shook her head. “Interns.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

A few weeks later…

           

            Beca was in the operating room with the interns as she prepared to start her thoracoscopic surgery. She had to remember that this was a teaching experience for the interns and she would need to interact with them.

            Once the scalpel was in her hand, Beca explained to the interns what she was going to do. “I am going to make several incisions over the chest wall and put the videoscope through them. The patient, Laura Grant, has empyema. I hope you all know what that is.”

            Jesse smiled proudly. “A buildup of pus in the pleural space.”  

            “Correct,” Beca said as she operated. “And what causes it?”

            “Most of the time empyema is cause by an infection that spreads from the lungs,” Chloe answered.

            “And the problem with this is….?”

            “The fluid puts pressure on the lungs,” Stacie said.

            The interns watched as the videoscope passed through the patient. Beca then cut the woman’s side in order to get to her lung to do the surgery.

            “Beale,” Beca began, “what should be done first?”

            “Um, I believe an aspiration of the pleural fluid,” Chloe answered.

            “You don’t sound sure,” Beca replied. “I need you to be sure.”

            “The fluid needs to be removed,” Chloe said more confidently.

            Beca inserted a small tube into the space between the lung and chest wall in order to remove the fluid that had built up around the lung. After almost an hour of removing all the fluid, Beca stopped when she located the pus around the lungs.

            Jesse turned his head away as the yellow fluids came into view.

            “Seriously? Please don’t tell me you’re squeamish,” Beca commented. “This isn’t the worst that you’ll see as a doctor.”

            Jesse cleared his throat. “No, I’m good.”

            “Are you going to throw up? I swear if you throw up in this OR, your internship is over.”

            “I’m fine, Doctor Mitchell,” Jesse assured her.

            Once Beca finally got the pus cleared, she addressed the interns once again. “Swanson what’s wrong with this lung?”

            “It’s not expanding like it’s supposed to due to the thick, inelastic peural peel that is covering it.”

            “Corad how do I fix this?”

            “Decortication. The restrictive layer of fibrous tissue needs to be removed.”

            Beca held out the medical instrument needed to remove the tissue. “Beale.”

            Chloe took the instrument and waited for instruction.

            “Can you see the tissue?”

            “Yes,” Chloe replied.

            “Then remove it,” Beca urged. “And don’t puncture her lungs.”

            Chloe began to remove the tissue until all signs of it were gone. “Finished.”

            “Well done.” Beca took back over, removing some extra fluid before removing the videoscope. “Swanson suture the cuts on her chest. Conrad, come take care of the one on her side.”

            Beca stepped back so the interns could work. Once they were done, she looked both of their suture jobs over. “Both good. Nice and clean, but Conrad you could’ve done better.”

            Stacie frowned as she looked her suture over. “What? It’s perfect.”

            “Beale what suture technique would you have used here.” Beca gestured to the cut she had made on the woman’s side.

            Chloe moved to look. “I think it looks great.”

            “I didn’t ask you what you thought,” Beca replied, sharply. “What would you have done here, Doctor Beale?”

            “A simple running suture as opposed to the interrupted suture. Less scarring that way and it is quicker.”

            Beca looked at Stacie. “You did a great job, Doctor Conrad. I just wanted to point out certain wounds require certain sutures.”

            Stacie nodded. “I understand.”

            “Alright, we’re done here. I have another surgery to get to. Go find your resident.”

           

 

            Once out of the OR, Chloe followed Beca down the hall, telling her friends that she would meet up with them in a few.  

            “Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe called to the brunette.

            “Yes?” Beca glanced at her.

            “I noticed the OR board and you have back to back surgeries all day,” Chloe  stated.

            “I know my schedule, Beale,” Beca said as she stopped to face the redhead.

            “Well if you need anything, let me know,” Chloe said. “You shouldn’t wear yourself out.”

            “Doctor Mitchell.”

            Chloe looked behind Beca and noticed Ethan Mitchell, the Chief of Surgery walking their way.

            “Chief,” Beca replied with a curt nod.

            “I noticed you have thirty minutes between your surgeries. Can you squeeze in a consult?”

            “I can,” Beca replied.

            “Great. Oh, and I was in the gallery for your surgery yesterday. The woman struck by the drunk driver. You cut it pretty close with her. Why’d it take you so long to find the bleed?”

            Beca shoved her hands into her lab coat and shrugged. “The patient had a lot going on. I did my best.”

            “Well your best needs some work,” Ethan said. “I’ll see you later for that consult.”

            Chloe was fuming. She couldn’t believe Beca’s father had said that to her. “Is he serious?”

            “Always,” Beca said as she continued down the hall.

            “You saved that woman’s life.”

            “He’s right,” Beca sighed. “I wasn’t fast enough. I have to go.”

            “Wait,” Chloe lowered her voice. “You’re working too hard. Maybe you shouldn’t take on so much.”

            “I can take care of myself. Go find Amy.” Beca walked away leaving Chloe to worry about her.

 

 

            “No wonder she is the way she is,” Stacie said after Chloe told her about Beca’s dad. They were sitting in the cafeteria after a few hours of rounds.

            “No kidding,” Jesse agreed. “And have you seen the OR board? She’s going to be stressed out today.”

            Stacie grinned perversely. “I wouldn’t mind relieving some of her stress.”

            Chloe picked up a baby carrot from her plate and tossed it at Stacie. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” Chloe’s pager went off and she pulled it from her waist to look at it. “And there goes my lunch.”

            Jesse pulled Chloe’s tray towards himself. “I’ll take care of it for you,” he joked.

            Chloe grabbed an apple from Stacie’s tray and left the cafeteria to go to Posen who had paged her. She found the blonde outside of an on-call room. “Doctor Posen, you paged me?”

            “I did,” Aubrey replied. “Doctor Mitchell is in this room. Make sure she stays in it for at least two hours.”

            “Um, she has surgery coming up soon,” Chloe replied.

            “And I’m taking it,” Doctor Posen replied. “And how’d you know that? Do you have her surgeries memorized?”

            “What? No, of course not. She mentioned it in passing earlier,” Chloe explained, not wanting to come off as a creepy intern.  

            “Just keep her in there,” Aubrey repeated. “No one bothers her and she doesn’t leave that room. Got it?”

            Chloe nodded. “I’ve got it. Why me, though?”

            “Swanson’s afraid of her and Conrad drools over her,” Aubrey explained. “You’re not afraid of her and you can keep it in your pants. And more importantly, because I said so. Now get in there and lock the door,” Aubrey said before walking away.

            Chloe entered the room and locked the door as instructed. She spotted Beca sitting on the edge of the bed looking quite irritated. “So what’s all this about?”

            “Aubrey thinks I need sleep,” Beca explained. “I’m perfectly fine. I know my limits.”

            “I agree with her,” Chloe said. “You need to rest.” She moved onto the bed. “Here,” she held out the apple she had intended to eat herself.

            “I don-”

            “Shut up,” Chloe cut her off. “Eat.”

            Beca took the apple. “You don’t have to stay here because you’re afraid of the wrath of Posen. I won’t go anywhere.” She bit into the apple and was surprised by how good she thought it was. She was definitely hungry.

            “I’m staying because I want to make sure you’re okay. I know you’ve got to be exhausted. Trauma’s been busy these last two days.” Chloe knew that Beca had also stayed at the hospital last night because she didn’t want to leave a critical patient in case she was needed.

            Chloe remained silent while Beca finished her apple and once the brunette tossed it into the trash, the redhead pulled her down onto the bed.  

            “What are you doing?” Beca asked as she laid down.

            Chloe placed an arm over Beca’s waist and pulled her closer. “Just sleep, Beca.”

            “Doctor Mitchell,” Beca corrected as she immediately relaxed into Chloe’s embrace.

            “When’s the last time you got eight hours of sleep?” Chloe wondered aloud.

            “Sixteen years ago. June twelfth,” Beca muttered as her eyes became too heavy for her to keep open.

            “That’s very specific,” Chloe replied.

            “Mmhm” was Beca’s sleepy response.

            Chloe placed a kiss on the back of Beca’s neck and began to hum the tune of _Titanium_ to help in lulling the doctor to sleep. Beca was still a mystery to her but she would find out all she could about the woman if it was the last thing she did.

 

 

 

            Aubrey was on her way to the on-call room where she had left Chloe to watch over Beca when she saw her best friend looking at the OR board. “I hope you got sleep.”

            Beca smiled. “I did. Beale kept me hostage.”

            Aubrey handed Beca a bottle of water. “Are you feeling okay?”

            “Yeah, I really did need the sleep. Thanks.” Beca sipped the water and gestured to the OR board. “One of my surgeries is gone.”

            “Yeah, Marcus Talbot. There were some complications there and he needed a cardio surgeon.”

            “Why wasn’t I paged?” Beca asked, irritated that she hadn’t been made aware of the situation.

            “Because he’s Doctor Yang’s patient now.  I would’ve taken him but I’ve already got a full plate.”

            Beca relaxed knowing that her patient was at least in good hands. “Thanks for taking care of everything for me.”

            Aubrey smiled. “That’s what I’m here for. And I heard a nurse say that the Chief gave you shit for your surgery yesterday. You know you did a great job, right? Your father’s expectations for you tend to be unfair so don’t beat yourself up over it. Anyway, I’ve got to head to my next surgery. I’ll be staying with Luke tonight so you’ll have the place to yourself. Try to get at least six hours of sleep.”  

            Beca checked the time and sighed. She really didn’t want to deal with her father but she couldn’t bail on a consultation. As she headed to the elevator, she saw Chloe making her way there as well. “Where are you off to?”

            Chloe turned her head and smiled when she saw Beca. “Peds floor. Amy says they could use my perkiness up there today.”

            The elevator doors slid open and Beca stepped on with Chloe. She hit the buttons for the floors they needed and glanced at the intern. “So what are you doing tonight?”

            “I don’t have any plans if that’s what you’re asking,” Chloe replied.

            “I’ve got the place to myself tonight and was wondering if you’d want to come over.”

            “You should be thinking about sleep instead of sex.”

            Beca smirked. “I can’t sleep after.” It had been four days since either of them had time for their trysts. “And honestly, we don’t have to have sex. I just like hanging out with you.”

            Chloe’s heart jumped as Beca revealed this information.

            The elevator doors opened on Beca’s floor and the brunette stepped off and turned to Chloe. “Well?”

            Chloe smiled. “I’ll bring dinner and a movie,” she said as the elevators doors slid closed.

            Beca did her best to wipe the smile off her face as she made her way to her father’s office. Her feelings for Chloe definitely ran deeper than she was willing to admit but she couldn’t do anything about them and she didn’t have anyone to talk to regarding the inappropriate situation. Sighing as she neared her father’s office, Beca pushed thoughts of Chloe Beale out of her head for now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

            Beca was watching a surgery on television when there was a knock on the door. Knowing it was Chloe; she got up and ran a hand through her hair before she answered it.

            “Change of plans,” Chloe said when the door was opened. “We’re going out.”

            Beca quirked a brow. “To where?”

            “There’s a carnival nearby and it’s the last day to go,” Chloe informed her. “We’re going.”

            “A carnival?” Beca said with a lack of enthusiasm. “That’s kind of lame.”

            Chloe rolled her eyes. “Have you ever been to one?”

            “Once and it was lame. Besides, what if someone sees us?”

            “Sunglasses, duh,” Chloe replied as if that was the most obvious answer.

            Beca laughed. “Sorry, I wasn’t aware sunglasses could change my appearance. But I meant that I have a reputation to uphold. I can’t be seen at a carnival.”

            “Too bad,” Chloe gestured behind her. “Let’s go.”

            Beca groaned. “Fine, let me change.” She headed to her room to change out of her sweatpants and t-shirt. As she was pulling jeans out of her closest, she could hear Chloe yelling to her.

            “And why are you watching another surgery?! I thought we talked about this?”

            “Those videos relax me!” Beca shouted back.

            Chloe entered the bedroom. “If you say so.” She sat down on the edge of Beca’s bed. “I brought my iPod with me. We’re totally rockin’ out in the car.”

            Beca chuckled as she pulled off her shirt and changed into a tank top. “And what are we going to be listening to? Spice Girls?”

            Chloe’s mouth dropped open in mock offense. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Spice Girls!”

            Beca shook her head as she put on a plaid shirt. “I refuse to leave this apartment if you make me listen to girly music.” Beca changed into her jeans and turned to look at Chloe.

            Chloe got up from the bed and pulled Beca to her by her jeans. “N*Sync, then.” She kissed the brunette before turning to leave the room. “Let’s go. No wasting time.”

            Beca bit her bottom lip as she grabbed her keys from her dresser. Things like this had been happening a lot the last three weeks. Chloe did small things like cuddle up to her and kiss her randomly. Very relationship-y things. Beca didn’t know what to make of it but it definitely wasn’t helping with the feelings that she had brewing for the intern.

            “Come on, Beca!” Chloe called to her.

            Beca exited her room and grabbed her jacket from the couch before leaving with Chloe.  

           

                       

            Beca was walking around the carnival with what she was sure was stupid grin on her face. Chloe was like a child here. Excited and intrigued by everything. It was adorable. Beca remembered the time her mother took her to a carnival. Her father was supposed to join them but he got stuck at work and it had led to a huge argument later that night. She hadn't had fun. Her mother tried to get her to loosen up but it was a lost cause.

            "Hey," Chloe broke Beca from her reverie. "Are you okay?"

            "Sorry, I was just thinking about my mom." Beca surprised herself with her honesty. She usually avoided all topics about her past.

            Chloe didn't want to push so she tried to keep the topic light. "You guys went to a carnival together?"

            "Yeah, once. I hated it." Beca shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "My father was supposed to be there but he had to work. It was my birthday so my mother was more pissed off than she would've been otherwise. And all I wanted to do was go home and study so I could test out of my grade level. My dad paid attention to things like that. If I could show him how smart I was, he'd brag to all his friends and tell them how amazing I would be one day." Beca shook her head. "He was beyond happy when he found out I wanted to be a doctor. I was big on music. I wanted to create it. He probably thought I was going to go that route. My mother would've loved that."

            Chloe brought her hand down to Beca's and brushed the back of her own hand against the brunette’s before linking their fingers together. "So why medicine over music?" Chloe thought she had an idea why but she figured she could be wrong.

            "When my mother died, I lost interest in it. My dad always thought it was stupid anyway. Studying to be a doctor gave me more time with him. He would help me study and teach me things medical students didn't learn until they were interns. I was always ahead of everyone.” Beca sighed. “A twenty-six year old attending. I worked really hard to get there. My dad was ecstatic about it for months."

            "Do you love being a doctor?" Chloe asked, wondering if everything Beca had achieved had been for her dad.

            Beca nodded. "Absolutely. I know what it sounds like but it wasn't all for my dad. I love saving people and making a difference." Beca realized that she had revealed a lot in a span of five minutes and began to feel uneasy. "God, I can't believe I just blurted that all out. I'm sorry. I can be socially inept sometimes."

            Chloe squeezed Beca's hand reassuringly. "Hey, don't worry. I'm glad you can talk to me about that stuff." She could tell that Beca was still upset with herself for saying so much so she decided to get off the topic before the brunette decided that she wanted to go home. Chloe gestured to the cotton candy stand as they neared it. "Want a snack?"

            Beca scrunched up her face in a way that Chloe thought was cute. "You mean do I want to clog my arteries? No, thanks."

            Chloe laughed and shook her head. "It is horrible, but you should live a little."

            "And again, you mean die a little because that's exactly what will happen."

            "You're ridiculous," Chloe said forgoing the cotton candy as they walked past it. "I'd like to point out that you have three different pizza menus stuck to your refrigerator."

            "Hey, that's different. Pizza is amazing."

            "Can't argue there." Chloe tugged Beca towards a booth. “Want to play?”

            “Do I have a choice?” Beca grinned.

            “Nope.”

 

            "You're crazy competitive. It's hot." Beca laughed as they walked away from the booth.

            Chloe grinned and linked her arm with Beca's. “Hey, I wanted that stuffed animal. I had to get in the zone." Chloe looked at the purple unicorn. "There's a little girl in Peds that will love this."

            "You totally belong there," Beca stated. "You’re a peds person."

            Chloe rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm telling you trauma is what I want."

            "And cardio is what I wanted but here I am."

            Chloe frowned and looked at the other woman with a hurt expression, her hold on Beca's hand loosening. "Is this your way of telling me you don't think I belong in trauma?"

            Beca squeezed Chloe's hand reassuringly. "That's not what I'm saying at all. I was just teasing you because all the bubbly people go to peds and all us hardcore people are in cardio, neuro and whatnot."

            "Oh, so I'm not hardcore now?" Chloe feigned offense. “And don’t let Arizona hear you say that. She’ll beat you with a brick. Peds is nothing but hardcore.”

            “Arizona? So you’re on a first name basis with Doctor Robbins?” Beca asked, nonchalantly.

            “You do realize your jealousy is unwarranted?” Chloe asked in amusement. “She’s married with a kid… and older.”

            “I’m older,” Beca tossed back. “And I’m not jealous.”

            “Yeah, by four years,” Chloe pointed out. “And you totally are.”

            “Whatever, you’re ridiculous.” Beca gestured toward another ride. “Do you want to get on anything else?”

            Chloe glanced at Beca with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Yeah I do, but we’ll have to head back to your place for that ride.”

            Beca laughed. “That was bad.”

            “What? Are you kidding me? That was solid flirting right there,” Chloe assured her playfully as they headed to the car. As they continued to banter, Chloe couldn’t help but feel like the night she had spent with Beca felt a lot like a date and less like two platonic friends hanging out. She stole a glance at the brunette as they walked and couldn’t help but think how breathtakingly beautiful she was. Chloe knew she had a crush. She had been trying to push down those feelings and she would continue to do so even though it was becoming difficult to ignore how being near Beca Mitchell made her heart freak out.

           

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Chloe eyes fluttered open and she stretched a bit before feeling a body beside her. She smiled knowing it was Beca, surprised that the brunette hadn’t woken her up to leave. Chloe turned so that she was facing Beca and trailed her hand up the brunette’s bare back. She leaned forward so that her lips were near Beca’s ear. “Hey, we need to get up.” Chloe laughed quietly when Beca made a grunting noise. She leaned back and began tracing patterns on the other woman’s back. She enjoyed touching her. Not inappropriately, though that was also enjoyable. She just liked feeling Beca against her whether it was holding hands or them standing so that their shoulders were touching. She just liked constant contact with Beca.

            Beca let out a content sigh as she felt Chloe’s hands on her back. If it was anyone else, she would’ve kicked them out by now. Actually, they wouldn’t have even been in her home. She never allowed that until Chloe.

            “We have to get up,” Chloe said, softly.

            “I know,” Beca mumbled into her pillow but she didn’t make an effort to get up. She was well-rested and wanted to enjoy being near the redhead for a few more minutes.

            Chloe stilled her hand against Beca’s back. “I need to take a shower. Can I use your bathroom?”

            “Yeah, of course.” Beca turned around so that she was facing Chloe. “I’ll go use Aubrey’s shower.”

            “Thanks.” Chloe kissed Beca on the corner of her mouth and got out of bed. Beca looked on as Chloe stretched her hands above her head and pushed out her chest, not caring that she was naked.

            “I’ll be out in a few minutes.” Chloe made her way into the bathroom and pushed the door so that it was ajar.

            Beca smiled to herself realizing that Chloe had stretched to tease her and was leaving the door open as an invitation. Beca knew she was falling deep but she couldn’t stop at this point. She wanted Chloe. Not just for the sex, but for the companionship. Beca wanted to hear about her day. She wanted to listen to her sing songs, changing the words when she didn’t know them. She wanted to see that radiant smile every chance she got. Beca ran a hand through her hair and thought about what she should do. She needed to talk to her best friends. They would probably be upset with her. Aubrey more so than Luke, but they were her friends and would talk some much needed sense into her. For right now, though, she just wanted to enjoy her morning with Chloe.

            Beca got up from bed and made her way into the bathroom. Chloe was already in the shower and Beca could smell her shampoo. She opened the door and stepped into the shower earning herself a smile from Chloe.

            “Give me a second.” Chloe finished washing her hair before giving her attention to Beca. She kissed the brunette before picking up the shampoo. “Turn around.”

            “What?” Beca asked, confused.

            “Turn around,” Chloe repeated. “We don’t have time for kinky shower sex.” She poured the shampoo into her hand and began the process of washing Beca’s hair. She rubbed her hands over the brunette’s hair, lathering the shampoo into it. She rubbed her fingertips into Beca’s scalp and kissed her on the neck as she did so. She smiled against the brunette’s neck as she felt her relax.

            After washing Beca’s hair and insisting on helping each other shower, Chloe exited the shower to go put her clothes on. Beca stayed in the shower for a few more minutes as if the water hitting her would dampen her growing feelings for Chloe Beale.  

 

 

            Beca was walking down the halls of the hospital when Stacie approached her. She looked at the brunette who was smiling at her. “What do you want Conrad?”

            “I heard you’re doing an exploratory laparotomy,” Stacie said. “I was hoping I’d be able to get in on that.”

            “You and the others will already be in the OR while I’m doing the surgery,” Beca stated.

            “I know, but I actually want to scrub in,” Stacie said. “Not just watch.”

            Before Beca could respond, she spotted Chloe and Jesse at the nurses’ station. “Beale. Swanson,” she called for them.

            The two interns immediately made their way over to the doctor.

            “Yes, Doctor Mitchell?” Jesse said.

            “During my ex-lap, the first person to identify what is wrong with my patient gets to scrub in. Until then, Swanson, you’re with me.”

            Jesse was surprised by this. He hadn’t spent much time with Beca.  Mostly because he did all he could to avoid her. “Um, for what exactly?”

            Beca turned her gaze on Jesse causing the boy to unconsciously take a step back. “I am your attending, correct?”

            Jesse nodded, but when Beca quirked a brow at him, he quickly spoke up. “Yeah- yes. Yes, Doctor Mitchell, you are.”

            “Then that’s good enough.” Beca continued down the hallway and Jesse looked at Chloe and Stacie who gave him a sympathetic look before he left to catch up with Beca.

            “God she’s hot,” Stacie sighed.

            Chloe shook her head at her friend. “Off limits, Stacie.”

            “I don’t want a life-long commitment,” Stacie stated. “I just want all of that,” she gestured towards Beca, “on top of all of this.” She pointed to herself.

            Chloe smirked. “On top?”

            “Mitchell seems like a total top,” Stacie said, dirty thoughts appearing in her head.

            “Snap out of it, perv,” Chloe said.

            “Yes, please do.”

            Stacie and Chloe both froze, afraid to turn around to face Doctor Posen.

            “If you two are done talking about whether Doctor Mitchell is a top or not, I have something for you to do.”

            The interns both turned around to await further instruction.

            “I’m done,” Stacie said, sheepishly. “Doctor Beale had nothing to do with-,”

            “Shut it,” Posen cut her off. “She split up the folders she was holding and handed a stack to each of the interns. “Go deliver these labs. A majority of them are good.”

            Stacie’s shoulders dropped. “Labs?”

            “Problem?” Aubrey asked, folding her arms across her chest.

            Stacie shook her head. “Labs are the best part of my day,” Stacie with a smile.

            “Do you want to spend the rest of your shift cleaning bed pans?”

            Stacie shook her head frantically.

            “Then go deliver the labs.”

            “On it.” Stacie walked off with Chloe. “Jesse’s so damn lucky. I want to spend my shift listening to Mitchell speak.”

            Chloe remained silent as she thought about how Stacie would react if she knew that she got to spend time with Beca doing a lot more than listening to her speak.

 

 

 

            “Do you have your eyes on a specialty?” Beca asked Jesse as she watched him do a central line. He was inserting an IV into the patient’s neck.

            “I’m thinking neuro,” Jesse answered. “It’s still up in the air, though.” He finished placing the IV and looked at Beca.

            Beca looked at his work and nodded. “Nice work.” Her pager went off and she nodded towards the door “Let’s go.”

            Jesse followed Beca to the ER and they were immediately greeted with a man hollering out in pain.

            Beca immediately took notice of the bone sticking out of the young man’s leg. “What’ve we got?” She asked the EMT who rolled him in on the gurney.

            "Twenty-year old male.  He was trying to do a trick off a rail and it didn’t end well. His friends drove him here.”

            “What’s your name?” Beca pulled gloves onto her hands and examined the open fracture.  

            “Trevor,” the man answered.

            “You’re going to be fine, Trevor, okay?” Beca said. “We’re going to get this cleaned up for you.” Beca looked at Jesse. “Doctor Swanson what do you advise we do first?”

            “Antibiotics need to be started.” Jesse looked at Trevor. “Have you had a tetanus booster in the last five years, Trevor?”

            “A what?” Trevor asked as his face was scrunched up in pain.

            “He’ll need a tetanus shot,” Jesse added. “And the injury needs to be aligned.”

            Beca looked at Trevor, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be fine. Start the IV,” she said to a nurse.

            Once Trevor had been moved to a bed and an IV had been started, Beca cleaned the wound and looked up at Trevor. “I’m going to have to align your bones, okay?”

            “Wait, no!” Trevor began to sit up but Jesse gently pushed him back down. “It’ll be fine.” When he continued to fight, Jesse looked up at a nurse. “Give him a sedative.”

            The nurse administered the sedative and Trevor relaxed.

            Beca gently aligned the bone and dressed the wound before applying a splint. “Page Doctor Torres,” she said to the nurse before looking at Jesse. “Well done,” she said as she removed her gloves and threw them away. “I thought you were a crappy doctor but I was wrong.” She picked up the clipboard from the end of the bed and began to write information about the patient on the form.

            “Wait. You thought I was a crappy doctor?” Jesse asked, worriedly. “Like, bottom of the food chain, going to get kicked out of my internship crappy?”

            “Doctor Evans and Doctor Posen said you were good, but I wanted to see it for myself,” Beca explained as she set the clipboard in its place on the end of the bed.

            “So this was a test of sorts?” Jesse asked. “That’s the only reason you wanted me on your service?”

            “Correct,” Beca replied. “And you proved yourself with everything we’ve done today.”

            “But you thought about having them give me the axe?” Jesse asked incredulously.  

            “But you proved me wrong,” Beca added. “If you’re going to be all sad about this, please go do it somewhere else.”

            “I’m not sad,” Jesse frowned. “I’m upset. I’ll be a damn good doctor one day.”

            “Then keep proving it,” Beca said, “because you can’t be squeamish, hesitant or too afraid to speak your mind if you want to work here. Understood?”

            Jesse nodded. “Understood. Thank you, Doctor Mitchell.”

            Beca waved him off. “You’re free. Amy will have something for you to do.”

            “You had me paged?” Torres asked as she approached Beca.

            Beca gestured to Trevor. “Open fracture.” Torres squinted as she looked at Beca, which caused the brunette to raise her eyebrows. “What?”

            “You’re glowing,” Callie pointed out. “Usually you’re Doctor Doom and Gloom.”

            Beca rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.” She pointed to Trevor. “Open fracture.”

            “What’s her name?” Callie asked, excitedly. “Is it serious?”

            “Open fracture, Doctor Torres,” Beca repeated.

            “Okay, okay.” Callie held up her hands in surrender before going to check on the patient.

            Beca headed to the cardio side of the hospital to find Aubrey but found Chloe first. The redhead handed a nurse a folder and rubbed the back of her neck to relieve tension. When Chloe looked up and spotted Beca, the brunette entered the on-call room. Seconds later, Chloe entered it as well.

            “You okay?” Beca asked.

            “Yeah, just had to tell a patient bad news and it was hard,” Chloe replied.

            Beca moved behind Chloe and began to massage her shoulders. “It’ll always be hard to deliver bad news but you’ll learn how to deal with it.” Chloe turned causing Beca to remove her hands from her shoulders.

            “I’ll be fine,” Chloe assured her. “Do you want to hang out again tonight? I was thinking we could watch a movie. Stacie and Jesse want to go to the bar after work and I’d rather stay in and relax, but I also don’t want to be alone so…”

            “I guess I could watch a movie with you,” Beca smiled.

            Chloe returned the smile. “Great.” Her gaze trailed down to Beca’s lips. “I should probably go look for Amy. She’ll probably have stuff for me to do.”

            “Yeah, you should go find her.” Beca didn’t move from her spot and neither did Chloe.

            Chloe leaned forward, closing the small gap between them. As soon as their lips met, the door opened and they broke apart immediately.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

            Bumper Allen smiled at the scene before him, looking from Beca to Chloe. “Sorry, I didn’t know this room was preoccupied.” He was grinning as he closed the door and Chloe had a feeling he was going to take what he saw and run with it.

            “I should go talk to him,” Chloe said as she made her way over to the door.

            Beca grasped Chloe’s wrist to stop her. “No, I should be the one to talk to him.”

            Chloe shook her head. “I think it’d be a better idea if I did the talking. I’m the one that kissed you.”

            But I kissed you back,” Beca pointed out. “I’ll go.”

            “Please, Beca,” Chloe begged. “Let me handle this.”

            Beca nodded. “Okay, just let me know how everything goes. If he gives you trouble, then I can-,”

            “I’ll handle it,” Chloe repeated before leaving the room. She looked around and spotted Bumper walking down the hall. She powered walked to catch up with him. “Doctor Allen.”

            Bumper turned his head and smiled when he saw Chloe. “On-call room free now?”

            “Look,” Chloe began. “What you saw…”

            Bumper grinned. “An intern and an attending about to get horizontal.”

            “No, not at all,” Chloe assured him. “I kissed her. She was lecturing me and I got tired of hearing her talk so I did something stupid.”

            Bumper stayed silent for a moment, unsure of whether he was being lied to or not. “She didn’t look like she minded.”

            “I caught her off guard,” Chloe explained.

            Bumper didn’t want to spread information about the kiss if Chloe was telling the truth. Beca wasn’t his problem anyway and he didn’t want to piss the attending off. Chloe was a different story, though. She had gone over his head and taken his patient, leaving him looking like a novice. There was no way he’d let an intern get away with embarrassing him. Smiling, Bumper stopped working to turn to face the woman. “Don’t worry, Beale. I didn’t see a thing. Just take the verbal beating next time. Kissing attendings won’t exactly give you a good reputation around here.” Bumper gestured down the hall. “I need to catch some Z’s.”

            Chloe watched the man walk off and sighed as she went to go find Amy. She needed to stay away from Beca today. Bumper wasn’t going to let things go that easily and she would have to be careful or he’d ruin her reputation before she even had a chance to prove herself at Barden Hospital.

 

 

            Beca hadn’t seen Chloe since Bumper had caught them in the on-call room but she was about to scrub in for a surgery that the interns would be watching so she’d see her soon. She really hoped Bumper hadn’t given Chloe any trouble about what happened. She shouldn’t have allowed the kiss to happen at work.

            Beca spotted the interns walking her way and nodded to them in greeting. “I hope you’re ready.”

            “We are,” Stacie assured her.

            Before entering the operating room, Beca and the interns washed their hands and arms thoroughly. Beca stole a glance at Chloe as she did this, but the redhead was focused on the process of washing her hands. Once finished, they entered the OR and Beca prepared to do the surgery.

            As Beca worked, Chloe glanced up at the gallery and spotted Bumper in the crowd. He smiled at her and waved, but she ignored it, looking back at the surgery. She knew he was only there to watch her. Probably only to scare her, make her paranoid about her every interaction with Beca.

            “Alright,” Beca began, “what’s the problem?” She already knew what it was and hoped all of the interns did as well.

            “Peritonitis,” Chloe answered.

            Beca smiled behind her surgical mask. “Doctor Swanson, what is Doctor Beale referring to?”

            “The tissue that lines the inner wall of the abdomen is inflamed,” Jesse explained.

            “And can any of you tell me why this is happening?”

            Stacie glanced around the patient’s insides and was relieved when she spotted the cause before her friends. “Gastrointestinal perforation.”

            Bumper stood up in the gallery and hit the intercom button. “So who gets the surgery, Doctor Mitchell? Beale gave you the problem but Conrad gave you the cause of the problem.”

            Beca ignored the man and looked at Chloe. “Beale you’ll be scrubbing in.”

            Chloe froze. She knew Bumper would make a big deal out of her getting the surgery. He’d probably label it as favoritism or her giving out “sexual favors” to scrub in on surgeries.

            “Doctor Beale,” Beca said. “You’re scrubbing in.”

            Chloe shook her head. “Doctor Conrad should do it.”

            Beca was irritated by this response but she would deal with it later. “Conrad, you’re in.”

            Stacie was confused by why Chloe turned down the surgery and she could tell that Beca wanted to have a few words with her but she stepped forward to do the surgery. She would find out what was going on later.

 

           

            After the surgery, Chloe was rushing off to the pit to see if anyone needed her help with anything when Bumper stopped her.

            “Doctor Beale,” Bumper grinned. “It was nice of you to turn that surgery over to Conrad.”

            “What are you playing at here?” Chloe asked, trying to keep her anger in check.

            Bumper looked at her innocently. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.”

            Chloe shook her head. “I don’t have time for games, Doctor Allen.”

            “Let’s just say I’ll have an eye on you and Doctor Mitchell,” Bumper said. “I’d be careful if I were you.” Bumper’s pager went off and he looked down at it. “Sorry we can’t chat some more. I’ve got to get going.”

            Chloe sighed and continued down the hall. Today was looking to be a pretty crappy day.

           

 

            Beca was sitting in her apartment later that night having a beer as she stared at the blank TV. She was upset and hurt. Chloe had avoided her after her surgery and she knew that Bumper had something to do with it. She didn’t want to confront the man and start more of a problem for Chloe, but she wanted to know what was going on. She had even texted the redhead but was ignored.

            Beca heard keys in the door and seconds later, Aubrey was walking in with Luke behind her.

            “Hey,” Aubrey greeted her. She took note of the miserable look on her friend’s face and the beer in her hand. “Rough day?”

            “Something like that,” Beca replied before sipping her beer.

            “Want to talk about it?” Luke asked as he closed the door.

            Beca sighed and looked at Aubrey. “You’re going to be so pissed at me.”

            Aubrey set her purse down and moved to sit on the couch. “What’d you do?”

            Luke sat down on the other side of Beca. “Ease up, Bree. Give her a moment.”

            Beca ran a hand through her hair and looked down at her beer bottle. “My one-night stand was… a few-night stands. I really like her. I’ve never liked anyone like this before.”

            Aubrey sighed as she stood up to pace around. “Beca, I swear if you’ve been sleeping with Stacie Conrad…”

            “No, I haven’t been sleeping with Stacie,” Beca cut her off.

            Aubrey stopped pacing and relaxed. “Oh, thank god. I thought-,”

            “It’s Chloe Beale,” Beca admitted.

            Aubrey was shocked to hear this. “Chloe Beale?”

            Beca nodded and twirled the bottle between her hands. “I want to be with her, Bree. I want an actual relationship with this woman.”           

            Aubrey rubbed her hands over her face before dropping them to her side. “Do you hear yourself? You can’t have a relationship with her!”

            “Now hold on,” Luke said, trying to calm his girlfriend down. “Technically, she can.”

            “Okay, yeah, technically she can,” Aubrey said. “But it’ll give her and Chloe both a bad reputation. And you know that, Beca. Why couldn’t you date another attending?”

            “I don’t want an attending,” Beca said, calmly. “I fell for an intern. I fell for Chloe. That’s who I want and I can’t change that.”

            Aubrey could hear the pain in her best friend’s voice and relaxed a bit. “You really like her, huh?”

            Beca nodded. “I do.”

            Aubrey plopped down beside Beca and let out a breath. “You’re going to have to keep things between you quiet. Outside of us, you can’t tell anyone. As your co-worker, I still don’t agree with it but as your friend, I’m happy for you. If you’ve found someone that makes you happy then I’ll support you.”

            Luke placed a hand on Beca’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “It’s not every day that someone wins Beca Mitchell over. There must be something about her.”

            Beca smiled. “There is.” Her smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. “She’s avoiding me, though.”

            “Why?” Aubrey asked, best friend mode activated. If Beca had lowered her walls to let Chloe in, she wasn’t going to allow the redhead to hurt her.

            Beca sipped her beer and set it down on the coffee table. “Bumper walked in on us kissing in an on-call room.”

            “Beca!” Aubrey chided. “Seriously?”

            “I know, okay? I messed up. It’s not Chloe’s fault.”

            “Bumper’s a Grade A asshole,” Aubrey huffed. “He’ll tell the whole hospital. Have you spoken to him?”

            “Chloe spoke to him,” Beca explained. “I don’t know what happened. She won’t talk to me.” Beca told them about her surgery earlier and how Bumper had gotten on the intercom. “I’d confront him myself but with me being the Chief’s daughter, he’ll think I’m using that to do whatever I want in the hospital and then he’d definitely tell the hospital what he saw.”

            “I’ll handle Bumper,” Luke promised her. “He won’t be saying anything.”

            “You don’t have to get involved,” Beca said. “This is my mess.”

            Luke smiled. “And you’re my best friend so I’ll help you with your mess. Don’t worry. Bumper won’t be a problem.”

            “Thank you,” Beca said, knowing Luke would come through for her. “I really appreciate it.”

            “Anytime, Beca.” Luke stood up from the couch and looked at Aubrey. “Rain check on movie night?”

            Aubrey nodded. “I’ll walk you out.”

            “Wait, you guys don’t have to change your plans because of me,” Beca said, feeling guilty.

            “I’m tired anyway,” Aubrey assured her. “I’ll be right back.” Aubrey left the apartment with Luke and sighed. “Beca likes someone,” she said. “This is going to be interesting.” In all the years they had known the woman, they had never known her to have romantic feelings for anyone.

            “Very,” Luke agreed. “Be nice to her, okay? She knows what she’s doing is wrong. She doesn’t need a lecture. Just be her friend.”

            “I will. Don’t worry. What are you going to do about Bumper?” Aubrey asked, curiously.

            “I have a secret weapon,” Luke grinned.

            ‘What secret weapon?” Aubrey asked curiously.

            “Amelia Shepherd,” Luke said, simply.

            Aubrey laughed. “You are a smart man.” Amelia was the head of neuro and one of the only people Bumper actually feared. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Aubrey kissed her boyfriend goodnight before heading back inside. “So, Chloe Beale?” She asked Beca who was still on the couch.

            “How upset are you?” Beca asked.

            “Doctor Posen is very upset,” Aubrey answered.

            “And my best friend?” Beca asked.

            “I’m happy for you, Beca. Really. I just wish she wasn’t an intern. Things could get messy.”

            “Yeah, I know. We’re great at keeping our personal lives out of the workplace. We just got caught up in the moment today.”

            “So are you two official or anything?”

            Beca shook her head. “We’re just friends. We hang out, talk, watch movies and do stuff other than have sex.”

            “She gets you to watch movies?” Aubrey asked, surprised.

            Beca smiled. “Yeah. She’s great, Bree. And you know me, I don’t get like this.”

            Aubrey sat down beside Beca. “I know. Well, let’s hear it. I want to know how she won you over.”

            Beca groaned. “Really?” She was already blushing and she hadn’t even said anything yet.

            “Yes, really,” Aubrey grinned. “This is a big thing. I want to know how it unfolded.”

            “I’ll start at the beginning…”

           

           

            Stacie finisher her shower and got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt before going to check on Chloe who had been sitting in the living room watching TV earlier.  “Hey, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been acting weird today… and I still can’t believe you let me have that surgery.”

            “I told you, Stacie. I just wasn’t in the right mindset to do it.”

            “If there’s something wrong, you can talk to me, Chlo.” Stacie sat down on the coffee table in front of Chloe. “Do you need to talk about anything?”

            Chloe wanted to talk to Stacie, but she couldn’t. Not about this. “I’m just having an off day. Don’t worry about it.”

            “Alright, well I’m heading off to bed,” Stacie said. “See you in the morning.”

            “Night.” Chloe turned off the television and headed to her own room. She collapsed onto her bed and let out a sigh. She had done a lot of thinking, coming to the conclusion that she would have to end things with Beca and that was something she really didn’t want to do, but she couldn’t risk her medical career. She was sure Beca would understand. They’d still be friends; they’d just refrain from their extracurricular bed activities. _God, that’s going to be so hard to do._


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

            Beca exited the locker room and was heading towards the elevator when she heard Chloe call her name. “Not now, Doctor Beale. I have something to do.” She had been paged in thirty minutes early due to an emergency with one of her patients.

            “You don’t,” Chloe informed her. “I had you paged. I’m really sorry. I just thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me after how I acted yesterday so this was my only option.”

            Beca shoved her hands into her lab coat. “Okay, we can talk.”

            Chloe smiled, relieved. “We should avoid on-call rooms. Is there anywhere else we can get some privacy?”

            “I have the perfect place.” Beca got onto the elevator and Chloe followed. Both remained silent until they reached the room of a coma patient.

            Chloe laughed. “Private but also a bit weird.” She looked over at the old man in the hospital bed before looking back at Beca. “So about yesterday.”

            “You don’t have to worry about Bumper,” Beca assured her. “Doctor Evans is handling that.”

            Chloe looked panicked. “You told him what happened?”

            “And Doctor Posen,” Beca admitted. “I needed people to talk to. They’re my people.”

            “No, I get it,” Chloe said. “It’s just that I don’t want to be seen as the intern who slept her way to the top, you know?”

            “They won’t see you that way,” Beca promised her. “You should be more worried about kind of breaking Posen’s rule.”

            Chloe laughed lightly. "Yeah, there is that."

            "Just don't be worried that it'll affect how they see you as a doctor. It won't. They know you're good. But anyway, I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Beca had decided that she wanted to be in a relationship with Chloe and she hoped her feelings were reciprocated.

            “What about?” Chloe asked.

            “About whatever it is that we’ve been doing,” Beca said, running a hand through her hair.

            "I know what you’re going to say and I agree," Chloe jumped in, wanting to get it out before she changed her mind. "I think it'd be best if we were just friends... you know, without the whole sleeping together part. Nothing has to change other than that. I love hanging out with you so I'd hate for us to have to stop."

            Beca felt a weird ache in her chest and did her best to ignore how Chloe's words had hurt her. "I agree. Trust me, I understand." And she did. If she was in Chloe's place, she'd be concerned about how sleeping with an attending would seem to others if it got out. It just really sucked.

            Chloe hated that she was giving up the privilege of being able to be so close to Beca, but it was for the best. Not only work-wise, but for her personally. She had a huge crush on the doctor and she knew that Beca only saw her as a sex buddy. It was best that she try to squash her feelings before things got too serious on her part. "So can we hang out tonight? My mom is bringing me dinner and she always brings more than I can eat. You can help me finish off the food."

            "You'll probably want to spend time with your mom," Beca began. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

            "You won't be intruding. She's just dropping the food off and leaving."

            Beca grinned. "If you're going to beg, then fine. We'll hangout." She wasn't sure how it would work out but she was willing to try to be friends with Chloe even though she wanted more.

            Chloe playfully shoved the brunette. "I wasn't begging. Come on, we better get out of here."

            "What? Afraid we might be interrupting his sleep?" Beca gestured to the patient on the bed.

            Chloe laughed and exited the room with Beca. As they walked down the hall sharing in small talk, Beca heard a familiar voice call her name. She turned around, smiling when she saw that it was Arizona.

            "Hey," Arizona greeted them.

            "Doctor Robbins," Beca greeted her. "What brings you down to our domain?"

            Arizona gestured towards Chloe. "I was hoping to hijack your intern.”

            Beca grinned. “Trying to recruit her to peds? I’m sorry to break your heart but she’s set on trauma.”

            “I’d be set on trauma too if you were one of my attendings,” Arizona joked.

            Beca chuckled. “Between you and your wife, I don’t know which one of you flirts with me more.”

            Arizona thought about it for a few seconds. “It’s definitely a tie. So, can I borrow Doctor Beale?”

            “Yes, you can take your carbon copy up to peds. I’ll need her back by four.”

            Arizona smiled big. “Yay!” She looked at Chloe. “We’re going to have a lot of fun. See you later, Mitchell.”

            “Later, Robbins. Bring my intern back in one piece,” Beca joked.

            Arizona laughed. “If she even wants to come back,” she called to her. Beca walked off with a smile on her face and Arizona looked at Chloe. “She’s awesome, right?”

            Chloe smiled. “She is. I enjoy working with her.”

            “She’s a lot nicer than she comes across,” Arizona added. 

            “I’ve noticed.” 

            “And she’s gorgeous.” Arizona looked at Chloe from the corner of her eyes to see her reaction to that statement.

            “God, she totally is.” Chloe’s eyes widened as she registered her words. “I mean-,”

            Arizona laughed. “I totally called it. You have a crush on her don’t you?”

            “What? No.” Chloe shook her head. “Absolutely not. She’s my attending.”

            “That doesn’t mean you don’t have a thing for her,” Arizona stated.   

            “I don’t have a thing. There’s no thing,” Chloe assured her quickly.

            “Okay,” Arizona relented. “I totally wouldn’t blame you if you did have a thing, though.” She would have to revise her plan with Callie to come up with a way to find out if Chloe was into Beca. They both thought Beca needed to date and Chloe was the perfect candidate.

 

            Aubrey had been trying to keep an eye on Beca all day and she could tell that something was wrong. The second she got a moment to herself, Aubrey made her way to the ER to locate the brunette. She spotted Beca at the counter, filling out paperwork for a patient. “Doctor Mitchell, a word.”

            Beca continued to write as she spoke. “What’s up?”

            “I need a consultation, please.”

            Beca finished writing and handed her clipboard to the nurse sitting at the desk before looking at Aubrey. “Lead the way.”

            Aubrey began to walk down the hall with Beca but the second the neared an on-call room, she flung the door open and pulled Beca inside.

            “Um, what are you doing?” Beca asked.

            Aubrey closed the door and looked at Beca. “You’ve been acting off today. What’s wrong?”

            Beca shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong.”

            Aubrey folded her arms across her chest. “You’re lying.”

            Beca scoffed. “I’m lying? I thought you needed me for a consultation.”

            “I lied for a good reason,” Aubrey stated. “You’re lying because you hate to admit sometimes that you have emotions.”

            Beca rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “Chloe wants to stay friends… but without the benefits. I’m such an idiot for falling for her. It’s whatever, though. I’ll get over it.”

            Aubrey knew Beca was hurting more than she was letting on and that didn’t sit well with her. Chloe Beale was going to feel her wrath.

            “Aubrey,” Beca said in a warning tone. She could tell that her friend was furious and would do something to punish Chloe. “We’re professionals. We separate our personal life from our work life.”

            “I don’t need that lecture. I know how to carry myself. I’m not the one who got caught in an on-call room with an intern.”

            “Touché.” Beca moved to open the door but Aubrey stopped her.

            “Luke discreetly asked Amelia to keep Bumper in check, so she had a conversation with him, which apparently has left him staying out of everyone’s way.”

            “I’ll have to thank both of them,” Beca said, sheepishly. She still couldn’t believe she had let herself get into this situation.

            “Are you going to be okay?” Aubrey asked.

            Beca sighed and shrugged. “I have to be, right? I’m her attending. I have to see her every day; I have to teach her. We’re staying friends so we’ll be hanging out.”

            “Maybe you shouldn’t be her friend,” Aubrey suggested.

            “I want to be,” Beca said. “I like being around her. She’s… a breath of fresh air.”

            “Just be careful, alright?” Aubrey said. “I don’t want to see her hurt you any more than she already has.”

            “Yeah, I know,” Beca assured her. “It’ll all be fine.”  

           

 

            Beca was sitting in the cafeteria when Callie sat down across from her with a grin on her face. She looked at the woman suspiciously. “Why are you smiling?”

            “So I was wondering why you’re single,” Callie began. “You’re attractive, smart, funny.” Callie rested her elbow on the table and placed her fist under her chin as she narrowed her eyes at Beca. “You don’t have any weird quirks do you?”

            “Uh, not that I know of,” Beca answered, wondering why her personal life was a sudden interest to the ortho surgeon.

            “Do you have a type?” Callie asked. “Blondes, brunettes… redheads, maybe?”

            “No, no specific type. Why do you ask?”

            “Because I know someone who is single and I could set-,”

            “Nope,” Beca cut her off. “Not happening, Torres.”

            “But-,”

            “I’m not interested in dating anyone,” Beca explained.

            Callie’s pager went off and she groaned. “We’re finishing this conversation,” she said before rushing out of the cafeteria.

            Beca shook her head in amusement and her thoughts drifted off to Chloe. She had thought about canceling her plans with the redhead and going to a club instead. She could pick up a woman and lose herself in the sex, forgetting about Chloe for at least a while. It wasn’t a permanent solution to the hurt that she was feeling but it was better than nothing.

           

           


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

            It was the end of Beca’s shift and she had just exited the hospital when she saw Stacie and Jesse walking towards their respective cars without Chloe. “Conrad, Swanson,” she called out. “Where’s Beale?”

            “She wanted to head back up to peds before she left,” Stacie replied.

            “Okay, thanks,” Beca said before walking to her own car. She got into her vehicle and waited for Stacie and Jesse to drive off before she got out and went back into the hospital. She made her way up to the peds floor and spotted Robbins and Torres giggling and flirting near the nurses’ station. “You two are going to make me gag from all the cute,” she joked.

            Torres smiled as she looked over at Beca. “You could have someone to be cute with too if you would hear me out.”

            Beca shook her head. “We’re staying off the topic of my personal life. Where’s Beale?”

            Arizona smiled. “She promised someone a game of Go Fish.”

            Beca laughed lightly, knowing which patient had talked the intern in that card game. She said goodnight to the doctors and made her way towards the hospital room of Lana Jacobs. When she got to the room, she leaned against the doorway and watched Chloe interact with the eight-year old. The redhead had already changed out of her scrubs and Beca was trying to not admire the way the top Chloe wore, hugged her in all the right places.

            “Oh man!” Chloe exclaimed with a big smile. “You beat me again. You’re too good at this game.”

            Beca entered the room and smiled when Lana brightened at seeing her. “She’s the Go Fish master of the peds floor.”

            Chloe looked over at Beca and smiled. “I can believe it. I didn’t win a single game.”

            “Beca!” Lana said, happily. “You still owe me a game.”

            “I know I do,” Beca said. “I’ll come up sometime this week and we’ll play. I promise.”

            “Okay,” Lana said through a yawn.

            “Looks like you need to get some sleep,” Chloe said as she stood up. “Thanks for the game.”

            Lana smiled. “Anytime. You know where to find me if you want to play again.”

            “She means lose again,” Beca said playfully as she cleaned up the cards and set them aside. “Where’s your flashlight, Lana?”

            “Aww, how’d you know?” Lana pouted as she pulled her flashlight from under the pillow.

            Beca laughed. “I heard you like to stay up late and read comic books and when the nurses wake you in the morning, you get cranky.”

            “I’ll just read one,” Lana promised. “Maybe two.”

            Beca laughed. “Two and then sleep. Goodnight.”

            “Night.” Lana laid down and Beca left the room with Chloe, hitting the lights before they left.

            “She’s a great kid,” Chloe said to Beca as they walked down the hall. Beca noticed that Arizona and Callie had both disappeared. Probably off to an on-call room.

            “Definitely,” Beca agreed. “I hope they find a heart for her soon.”

            “Yeah, me too,” Chloe said with a sigh.

            “Hey, what’s wrong?” Beca asked as they stopped at the elevator.

            Chloe hit the down button and looked at Beca. “It was rough for me today. I only spent a few hours on the peds floor but it drained me. Those poor kids are going through so much. It’s hard to process. I don’t know how Robbins does it. How do you know Lana?”

            “She came into the ER after falling while rollerblading. She wasn’t wearing her helmet and needed stitches. She ended up coding and I brought her back. After running some test, I discovered her heart condition. She’s a sweet kid. She doesn’t let anything get her down.”

            “I’ve noticed.” Chloe stepped off the elevator with Beca.

            “So other than peds draining your life force, how was your day?” Beca asked.

            Chloe shrugged. “It was okay. Posen kept glaring at me. Bumper kept his distance. Oh, I pissed Yang off.”

            “Yikes,” Beca said, sympathetically. “It’s easy to piss her off. Almost as easy as pissing me off,” she grinned.

            Chloe laughed lightly. “Yeah, you definitely have her beat there.”

            “So how’d you manage to invoke her wrath?” Beca asked as they walked out of the hospital.

            “I got busy doing multiple things at once and misplaced the CT scans I was supposed to deliver to her because I was paged in the midst of delivering them. I found them and gave them to her but not without a lot of yelling and hearing about how incompetent I am.”

            “I would’ve totally yelled at you too,” Beca admitted. “But I get it. Things get crazy. You’ll learn to juggle it all.” Beca bit her bottom lip as she thought about how to cancel her plans with Chloe. “Um, about tonight.”

            “I’m so glad we’re hanging out,” Chloe said. “I’ve had such a crap day. It’ll be fun to relax with you. I even got a movie that I think you’ll be able to stand. Sorry, what were you going to say about tonight?”

            Beca couldn’t cancel on Chloe now. Not when the redhead was looking forward to it because she was having a bad day. “Oh, um, when’s your Mom going to be at your apartment?”

            “She’s supposed to drop the food off with Stacie since I couldn’t make it on time,” Chloe said. “And don’t worry, Stacie will be gone before we get there. She’s going “hunting” tonight and she won’t be back home until late.”

            Beca smirked. “Hunting?”

            “Yeah, that’s what she likes to call it.” Chloe stopped at her car and hit the button on her car remote to unlock the doors. “Are you going home for anything or are you just going to follow me?”

            “I’ll follow you,” Beca said before walking to her own car. She hoped tonight went smoothly. Chloe seemed fine with everything so she guessed she would have to follow suit so things wouldn’t get awkward.  

             

 

            Beca was sitting on the couch watching the psychological thriller that Chloe thought she’d appreciate. She was trying to enjoy it but the close proximity of Chloe’s body to hers was making things very distracting for her. Chloe was startled by something that had just happened in the movie and Beca smirked at her reaction to it. The smirk quickly disappeared though when Chloe linked her arm through hers and rested her head on her shoulder. There was no way Beca could pay attention to the movie now.

            “You can handle cutting people open and seeing blood everyday but you can’t handle a movie that isn’t even that scary?”

            “Hush, you,” Chloe said, poking Beca in her side, causing the brunette to squirm. Chloe’s eyes lit up as she raised her head from Beca’s shoulder. “You’re ticklish!”

            “Don’t you dare,” Beca warned. “I’ll have you scrubbing bedpans all day tomorrow.”

            “You’re no fun.” Chloe rested her head back onto Beca’s shoulder. “Watch the movie.”

            Minutes went by and Chloe jumped yet again at something that had happened in the movie. “I should’ve picked a comedy.” When she didn’t get a response, she raised her head to look at Beca and chuckled when she saw that she had fallen asleep with her head resting on the back of the couch. She picked up the remote and turned off the TV before grabbing her phone to see what time it was. It was late and she knew they needed to get to bed. She saw that she had a text from Stacie and checked it. Apparently the brunette wasn’t going to be home until the morning, which worked out because she didn’t want to make Beca drive home when she saw so tired. “Becs, come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

            Beca remained sleeping and Chloe smiled at her. She hit the camera icon on her phone and turned off the flash before taking Beca’s picture. She smiled at the picture and decided to take another one. She rested her head back on Beca’s shoulder and took another photo. Tossing her phone beside her, Chloe went back to trying to wake Beca up. She began poking the woman in her stomach repeatedly as she said her name.

            “Ohmygod, why do you hate me?” Beca muttered as she slapped Chloe’s hand away. Her eyes remained closed as she spoke.

            Chloe grinned. “Sorry, I thought you’d want to sleep somewhere more comfortable.”

            Beca opened her eyes. “Yeah, I should get home.”

            “No, don’t be silly.” Chloe stood up from the couch. “You can sleep here. Besides, I need a cuddle buddy.”

            Beca raised a brow. “A cuddle buddy?”

            “Yeah, I love cuddling and I’ve had a rough day. Cuddling is needed and Stacie’s not here for me to jump into bed with.” Chloe pulled the brunette up by the hand. “You shouldn’t be driving when you’re tired so don’t argue.” Beca allowed herself to be pulled into Chloe’s bedroom. “I’ll get you something to sleep in.”

            Beca laid down on the bed while Chloe began to dig through her drawers. Seconds later, she turned around to face Beca with a pair of shorts and a shirt in her hands. “Here you go.” She saw Beca lying on her stomach with her eyes closed. “Really? For someone who has trouble sleeping, you sure do fall asleep easily when I’m around.” Chloe removed her clothes and changed into the shorts and t-shirt that had been meant for Beca. Once dressed, she stared at Beca for a few seconds before moving closer to the bed. She bent down gently and kissed the brunette on the cheek. “Have a good night, Beca,” she whispered before moving to lock her room door and turn off the light.

            She got into bed but kept a gap between her and Beca. She didn’t want to wake her up by invading her personal space. She laid on her stomach and closed her eyes, letting her hand trail over to the other side of the bed until she felt her hand come into contact with Beca’s. She slipped her hand into the sleeping brunette’s and within seconds she fell into a peaceful sleep.  

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Chloe awoke abruptly from her dream and let out a breath as she relaxed. Her dream had been about Beca. Her, Beca and an on-call room to be more exact. Her heart was pounding in her chest from the vividness of the dream. She could still feel Beca’s hands on her. Chloe sighed again and it finally registered to her that Beca’s hand had wondered up her shirt and was resting on her stomach. She moved her own hand up her shirt and linked her fingers with Beca’s. This was nice and she wished it could be like this all the time.

            Chloe turned gently in Beca’s arms, trying not to wake her. Once facing Beca, she smiled and brushed a strand of air from the sleeping woman’s face. “You’re so beautiful, Beca,” she whispered. She traced her thumb over Beca’s lips and her mind went back to her dream. Groaning lightly, Chloe looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was still early but she desperately needed some alone time in her shower.  Chloe grabbed something from her nightstand before she slowly got off the bed and made her way into her adjacent bathroom.

 

 

            Beca woke a few minutes after Chloe got up from the bed and she let out a satisfied sigh as she stretched. She checked the time and saw that she still had an hour before she had to be up. She heard the shower running and figured she could sneak out before Chloe got out but she really didn’t find herself wanting to do that. As she laid in bed she heard a faint sound from the bathroom. She didn’t make much of it but then she heard it again. A moan. She got up from the bed and made her way over to the bathroom door. She was just about to open her mouth to ask Chloe if she was okay, when she heard something that surprised. “Mmm, Beca!”

            Beca’s eyes widened and she knew she should move but it was like she was frozen in place. She heard several moans, a gasp of completion and then something hard hit the floor. Chloe had dropped her vibrator. Beca could hear it vibrating against the tiles of the shower. The vibrator was turned off and now Beca could hear Chloe humming _Titanium_ as she finished her shower. Wanting to avoid any awkward moments, Beca got back onto the bed and laid down. She would pretend that she had been sleeping so Chloe wouldn’t be embarrassed.

            Beca wasn’t sure what to make of Chloe pleasuring herself to thoughts of her. Did she like her as more than a friend or was she reading too much into it? Either way, Beca couldn’t get the image of Chloe doing _that_ in the shower out of her head.

Beca had fallen back asleep while waiting for the redhead to exit the shower and now awoke to a finger poking her cheek. She scrunched up her face and swatted the hand away as she turned onto her side.

            Chloe smiled and picked up a pillow to hit Beca on the head with. "Get up, Mitchell. We have work."

            Beca opened her eyes and glared at the redhead. "You just hit your attending with a pillow."

            "We're not in the hospital so you're just Beca to me right now," Chloe grinned and picked up a drink from her nightstand. "Here, drink this."

            "Why is it green?" Beca cautiously took the drink and when Chloe’s fingers met hers, her heart thumped in her chest. She mentally kicked herself for not having better self-control around the woman.

            "It's good for you," Chloe said. "Drink it."

            Beca sipped the drink and was surprised at how good it was. She licked her lips and tried not to smile as Chloe’s eyes followed the motion. "Is this your own little concoction?"

            Chloe cleared her throat, hoping Beca didn’t notice her staring so intently at her lips. "As a matter of fact, it is.”

            Beca got up from the bed and drank some more of the drink before setting it down on the dresser. She looked at the time and saw that it was seven in the morning. She needed to head home to get ready for work but she also didn’t want to leave. "Sorry I fell asleep during the movie."

            Chloe smiled and shook her head. "Don't be. I'm just glad you got some much needed rest. I'll see you at work. Take the glass with you."

            Beca shoved her feet into her shoes. Chloe had brought them in from the living room so Stacie wouldn't see them. Beca then grabbed the glass and gestured towards the door. "Is Stacie here?"

            "She is but she's asleep," Chloe assured her. "You can make a clean getaway."

            "Thanks for breakfast." Beca sipped the drink as she made her way out into the living room with Chloe following behind her. "Hope your day is better than yesterday,” she said, quietly.

            "Yeah, me too," Chloe said, absently. She was currently thinking about how easy it would be to just lean in and kiss Beca. "See you at work." Once Beca left, Chloe closed the door and sighed. She really needed to get her crush on Beca under control before she did something stupid.

 

 

            Beca had just finished changing in the locker room when Aubrey walked in. She took notice of the look her best friend was giving her and sighed. "What?"

            "You spent the night with Chloe?" Aubrey wasn't upset just worried about Beca getting hurt. The brunette was more fragile than she let on.

            "I fell asleep watching a movie," Beca explained. "Nothing happened." Her mind went back to Chloe in the shower but she chose not to say anything about it. Beca closed her locker and sat down on the bench. "You can tell me I'm an idiot."

            "You're not an idiot," Aubrey assured her as she began changing into her scrubs. "I just want you to be careful." She would definitely be having a conversation with Chloe today. She wanted to know what the redhead's endgame with Beca was. Once she was done changing, Aubrey left the locker room with Beca. They headed towards the OR board to look it over.

            "Oh, you're scrubbing in on a surgery with Doctor Shepherd?" Aubrey asked as she scanned the board.

            "Yep," Beca answered. "She needed another pair of hands."

            "You two would be cute together," Aubrey mused.

            Beca laughed. "We'd get on each other's nerves."

            "It's not like you haven't been there before," Aubrey pointed out.

            "That was two years ago and it was just sex. She was feeling all experiment-y and I was horny and well, you know the rest."

            "Yep, I still think it's disgusting you did that in a dirty bar bathroom," Aubrey shuddered. "Come on, Luke should be in the cafeteria. He's been here since seven."

            "Mitchell!" Cristina Yang approached the two younger doctors.

            Beca turned around to face the cardiothoracic surgeon. "Doctor Yang," Beca greeted her.

            "Here." Cristina handed Beca a folder. "Give this to your father and tell him it's the best thing ever."

            Beca opened the tile and skimmed the contents of the document inside. "A proposal for cardio. Why can't you give this to him?"

            "Because he'll flat out say no to me," Cristina said. "You're his daughter. He'll hear you out and maybe you can talk him into signing this."

            "It's not just up to him," Beca said. "The board will have to sign this."

            "One thing at a time," Cristina said. "So?"

            "I won't have any leverage here." Beca handed the folder back.

            Cristina scoffed. "What's the point of being kind of nice to you if I can't reap benefits from it?" Before Beca could say anything else, Cristina stomped off.

            Beca quirked an eyebrow and looked at Aubrey. "That's who you aspire to be one day?"

            Aubrey smiled brightly. "Absolutely. She's the best. Come on, I want to get breakfast in before I don’t have time to even think about food.”

           

 

            “Hottie alert,” Stacie said as she spotted Beca and Aubrey enter the cafeteria.

            Jesse shook his head as he smiled in amusement. “How do you even focus on surgeries when you can’t stop yourself from drooling over a pretty face?”

            “I’m offended,” Stacie informed him. “It’s not just a pretty face. She has a nice rack too. I saw her once dressed in her street clothes. Damn sexy. This place is just filled with doctors that I wouldn't mind getting under," Stacie grinned perversely.

            Jesse laughed lightly. "How haven't you killed anyone yet?"

            "Hey, I can focus," Stacie assured him. "I just like to appreciate the finer things in life." Stacie noticed Amelia Shepherd enter the cafeteria and head over to Beca. "Like her for example."

            Chloe and Jesse looked to where Stacie was looking.

            "Doctor Shepherd?" Jesse asked. "Yeah, she's gorgeous."

            The interns watched as Amelia stepped behind Beca and bent down to whisper in her ear.

 

            "Mitchell, I need your hands," Amelia said. Beca smirked, which earned her a light slap on the shoulder. "Don’t be a perv. I have a double surgery and I need another set of hands."

            "That cardio-neuro surgery?" Beca asked. "I'd love to but I have to keep an eye on my patient. She's critical."

            "Get the interns to do it," Amelia suggested. "I'm sure they can manage to not have anyone die for a few hours."

 

 

            "I heard that they have a thing," Jesse stated as they continued to watch the doctors.

            Chloe looked at Jesse. "What do you mean?"

            "They're.... close," Jesse said. "Very close."

            Chloe clenched her jaw and looked back over at Beca. Amelia had her hands on the back of Beca's shoulders and was massaging them.

 

            "You should be honored that I'm even asking you," Amelia said.

            "I'll think about it," Beca offered.

            Amelia ceased her actions, dropping her hands from Beca's shoulders and sitting beside her. "Just agree to do the damn surgery or I'll have to ask Kepner."

            Beca laughed. She knew Amelia was up to something. "You're only asking me because you don't want Kepner to scrub in with you?"

            "She talks too much," Amelia whined. "I can only hear about her past farm life for so long. Your father told me to have you or Kepner in there so obviously I'm going with you."

            Beca grinned. "I'll do it but know that I feel like a last resort."

            Amelia rolled her eyes playfully. "Never. You know you're my favorite."

            "Hey!" Aubrey protested. "You said I was your favorite when you asked me to join you."

            "Favorite cardio surgeon," Amelia said before pointing to Beca. "And my favorite trauma surgeon."

            Luke laughed. "What a cop out."

            Amelia pointed at the man. "You're not my favorite at all.”

            Luke placed a hand over his heart. "Your words wound me, Shepherd."

            Amelia patted Beca on the back. "Thanks for saving me from Kepner. I'll give you a huge hug later," she said, knowing Beca wasn't a fan of them.

            "I'll bail on your surgery," Beca warned, playfully.  

            Amelia held her hands up. "No hugging. I'll buy you a beer tonight."

            Aubrey frowned. "I want a beer."

            "You'll get two beers," Amelia said to her as she walked away.

 

            Chloe glared at Doctor Shepherd as she watched the woman leave the cafeteria. Beca had never mentioned being friends with her. Maybe they had slept together on a few occasions like she and Beca had. Chloe felt a horrible ache in the pit of her stomach at the thought of it.

 

 

            "Luke wouldn't Beca and Amelia be a super cute couple," Aubrey looked at her boyfriend.

            Luke shook his head. "They're too much alike. They'd kill each other." Beca smiled and Aubrey rolled her eyes. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

            "She wants me to redirect my feelings onto someone else," Beca informed him.

            Luke gave Aubrey a "we talked about this" look.

            "I have to go see the Chief," Beca said as she stood up. "I avoided him all day yesterday and I'm sure he's pissed."

            "What do you have to see him for?" Luke asked.

            Beca sighed. "He wants to talk and since the anniversary of my mom's death is coming up, I can guess what the topic is going to be about. I'll catch you guys later." Beca left the cafeteria and headed up to her father's office. She hoped he wouldn't take up too much of her time.

            Once she reached the door, she knocked on it and heard her father tell her to come in. She opened the door and stepped inside. "You wanted to see me?"

            "Yesterday," Ethan Mitchell replied as he looked up from the paperwork on his desk.

            "I was busy yesterday," Beca stated. "Actually, I'm quite busy today as well. Can we make this fast?"

            Ethan sighed and sat back in his chair. "How are you, Beca?"

            Beca frowned at the question. "I'm fine. Why?"

            "I just wanted to know," Ethan said. "How are the new interns doing?"

            "They don’t suck” was Beca’s vague response.  

            "I was walking the halls the other day and overheard the nurses talking," Ethan replied. "They think you're sweet on Doctor Beale."

            Beca rolled her eyes. "Is that why I'm up here? So you can remind me about the non-existent “no fraternization” rule? Nothing's going on between us. She wants to be a trauma surgeon so I spend a little more time with her then I do the others."

            "Okay, relax," Ethan said. "I just wanted to make sure. Nothing ruins an intern's reputation more than the staff thinking they've slept their way to the top. You remember Bryant Miller and Vanessa Davis. That wasn't too long ago."

            Beca did remember them. Bryant Miller was an intern who had been sleeping with Doctor Davis, an attending. He got in on all the good surgeries and was given his first solo surgery not long after starting at the hospital. Interns resented him and stopped taking Doctor Davis seriously. Bryant was eventually dropped from the program because it turned out he wasn’t a good doctor, which would've been noticed sooner if Doctor Davis hadn't been fixing his mistake. Doctor Davis had quit and moved on to another hospital before she could be asked to leave. It was all an avoidable mess.

            "Doctor Beale is an attractive woman," Ethan continued. "I just want to make sure you're focused on your job."

            "I'm always focused on my job," Beca assured him, impatiently. "Was that all?”

            “The anniversary of your mother’s death is coming up. I know that’s always a tough time for you.”

            “I’ll be fine,” Beca assured him.

            “If you need that day off,” Ethan began.

            Beca stood up. “I don’t. Now if there’s nothing else, sir. I have to get back to work.”  
            Ethan sighed and stood up as well so that he was at eye level with his daughter. “Why can’t we ever have a decent conversation? I’m trying here, Beca.”

            “You can’t decide decades later that you want to be a father to me. Has your conscious finally caught up with you or something?” Beca tugged at her scrub top. “This. This is the only reason you remember I exist.”

            “You know what,” Ethan said, throwing his hands up. “Just let it out. Let’s hear it, Beca. Tell me how horrible I am.”

            “You just don’t get it,” Beca said, trying to keep her emotions in check. “I have work to do.” Beca left the office, gently closing the door before she headed for the stairwell. By the time she reached the last staircase, she had cleared her mind.

            Beca approached Amy who was standing at the nurses’ station filling out a form. She looked at the nurse sitting there and greeted her with a nod. “Hey, Erica. Can you page the interns for me? I have a job for the one with the quickest response time.”

            “Sure thing.” The nurse said as she proceeded to page the interns.

            Amy looked up from her clipboard. “What’s the job?”

            “I have a long surgery and I need someone to keep an eye on a patient for me,” Beca replied.

            Chloe arrived at the nurses’ station first followed by Stacie, seconds later, and then Jesse. 

            “Beale, you win!” Amy exclaimed.

            “Follow me,” Beca said as she began to walk towards her patient’s room.

            “What did I win?” Chloe asked, curiously as she followed Beca.

            “I need you to keep an eye on this patient for me.” Beca stopped outside of a hospital room.

            Chloe looked inside and saw a young woman lying in the bed with bruises on her face and her arm in a cast.

            “This is twenty-one year old, Denise Taylor. “She was in a car accident two days ago and is now in critical condition. She coded several times in those two days, but she is alive. When I’m done helping Doctor Shepherd and Doctor Posen with their surgery, she better still be that way. Got it?”

            Chloe nodded. “Understood.”

            “Good.” Beca caught herself thinking back to this morning when Chloe was in the shower and smirked.

            “What?” Chloe asked, noticing the smirk on Beca’s face.

            Beca shook her head. “Nothing. Page me if you absolutely need me.”

            “Wait,” Chloe said before Beca could walk off. “You and Doctor Shepherd… are you two close?”

            “Yeah, I guess you could say we are,” Beca answered, thrown by the random question. “Why do you ask?”

            Chloe shook her head. “No reason. Just wondering. So are you busy tonight? I was thinking we could try that whole movie thing again.”

            Beca made an apologetic face. “I have plans. I’m going to the bar tonight. Amelia owes me a drink that I’ll probably very much need by the end of my shift. Sorry.”

            “No, don’t worry about it.” Chloe plastered on a smile. “Have fun with Amelia. I’m sure you two will have a _great_ time together.” Chloe turned to walk away, leaving a very confused Beca behind.

            Beca heard the sarcasm in Chloe’s voice but before she could say anything, her pager went off. She’d have to figure out what Chloe’s problem was later.

 

 

            Aubrey was about to go prepare for her surgery when she spotted Chloe in the lab suturing a banana. She entered the room, catching Chloe’s attention.           

            “Doctor Posen, hi.” Chloe stopped what she was doing.

            “What’s your endgame with Beca?” Aubrey asked.

            “My endgame?” Chloe repeated. “I don’t have one.” Chloe knew this conversation with Aubrey was coming. She had just hoped it wouldn’t be so soon.

            “Beca doesn’t let people in,” Aubrey stated. “If she does, it takes months to even crack the surface of all those walls that she has up. I don’t know what it is about you, but she’s let you in. You better not be playing some game in hopes of getting special treatment. Beca won’t give it to you. She’s not like that.”

            “I never thought she was,” Chloe assured her. “I like Doctor Mi- Beca. I like Beca. She’s my friend. I’m not using her. I would never do that. It’s never even crossed my mind.”

            “Just watch yourself,” Aubrey warned. “I don’t have to tell you how skilled I am with a scalpel.” Chloe watched Aubrey leave and sighed. _At least that wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been._

            Chloe went back to suturing the banana as she tried to keep her mind off of Beca. The jealousy she was feeling over Beca and Amelia was ridiculous and she tried to suppress it. Beca wasn’t hers. It didn’t matter what the brunette did with anyone else.

 

 

            An hour and a half later, Chloe was up on the pediatrics floor watching the newborn babies through the window.

            “Hey, Beale,” Arizona approached the woman. “What are you up to?”

            “It’s a slow day for me,” Chloe answered. “Just thought I’d come up here for a bit.”

            “Are you okay?” Arizona asked, taking note of Chloe’s mood.

            “Yeah, I’m alright,” Chloe said. “Just… my personal life is getting me down, I guess.” Chloe couldn’t talk to anyone about Beca and it was starting to get to her. She was someone who vented and liked to talk about things to get them off her chest. She couldn’t do that with her current situation.

            “Want to talk about it?” Arizona asked.

            Chloe smiled. “Thanks, but I’ll figure it out.”

            ‘Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind,” Arizona said.

            “Thanks, Doctor Robbins,” Chloe said. “I-,” Before Chloe could say anything else, her pager was going off. She looked down at it and saw that it was a 911 for Denise Taylor. “Shit, I have to go!” Chloe rushed down the stairs and towards the hospital room of Denise Taylor. When she got there, the young woman was coding. “Someone page Doctor Mitchell!” Chloe took the defibrillator from one of the nurses and began to use them herself. “She’s in v-fib. Charge to three-hundred.”

            “Charged,” one of the nurses said. “Clear.”

            After the shock was delivered, Chloe started compressions on the patient. After thirty compressions, she stopped and looked at the monitor. “Holding compressions.” The monitor began to beep again and Chloe let out a breath of relief. She checked the patient’s heartbeat with a stethoscope and frowned when she heard a muffled heartbeat. She gently turned the patient’s head to the left in order to see the right side of her neck, which revealed a thick vein. “Shit, JVD.”

            “What?” One of the nurses asked.

            “Jugular-venous distension,” Chloe said as if the nurse would understand it unabbreviated. “Get me an ultrasound.” Once the ultrasound was up, it confirmed what Chloe thought. She knew the woman’s pericardial sac needed to be drained to relieve pressure from her heart before it stopped. “Page Doctor Posen. This patient has cardiac tamponade.”

            “Doctor Posen is in a surgery,” a nurse informed her.

            “Right,” Chloe sighed. “Get me, Yang.”

            “Yang is also in surgery at the moment,” the nurse said.

            “Just get me someone!” Chloe exclaimed. She did the ultrasound again and new the woman didn’t have long before her pericardial sac would burst. Chloe quickly slipped on gloves and prepped the patient the best she could, cleaning the area that she would need to cut. “I need a scalpel.” She had never done anything like this before and was only going off of what she had seen once before while sitting in on a surgery in the gallery. _Don’t fuck this up, Beale._ She thought to herself before pressing the scalpel to Denise Taylor’s chest.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

**Chapter Fourteen**

            Chloe took a deep breath and made the cut. “I need an eighteen gauge,” she said and was quickly handed a needle, which was attached to a tube where the blood would drain out into a bag. “Okay,” Chloe whispered to herself. “Enter via the subxiphoid approach, forty-five degree angle, push towards the left shoulder.”

            “Don’t puncture the heart,” a nurse warned.

            “No talking,” Chloe said as she pushed the needle in further. Once the needle was where it was supposed to be, she pulled it out, aspirating, as she did so in order to get the blood out. She smiled happily as the blood flowed through the tube.

            “What’ve we got?” Luke asked as he rushed into the room.

            “Cardiac tamponade,” Chloe answered him.

            Luke looked at the tube and then at the patient. “ _You_ did this?”

            Chloe looked worried. “Her pericardial sac was going to burst so I needed to act right away.”

            Luke went about checking the patient’s vitals before looking back at Chloe with a smile on his face. “How’d you even know it was a cardiac tamponade? I didn’t learn about that until I was a resident.”

            Beca and Aubrey came rushing in the room. “We were paged.”  
            “It’s been handled,” Luke assured them. “Cardiac tamponade.”

            Beca looked at Denise and saw the tube attached to her chest, draining the blood. “Thank you, Doctor Evans.”  
            Luke shook his head. “I just got here. Doctor Beale took care of it.”

            Beca’s eyes shifted to Chloe. “You did this? You put a scalpel to my patient? Have you ever done this procedure before?”

            “No, but I saw it from the gallery when-,”

            “The gallery?” Beca asked in disbelief. “Why didn’t you get someone in here to do it for you? What if you had punctured her heart?”

            “It needed to be done right away, Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe informed her. “I had several people paged. And I did not puncture her heart. I saved her life.”        

            “What’d you do?” Beca scoffed. “Shove the needle in there and hope you didn’t kill her?”

            “No, I entered using the subxiphoid approach at a forty-five degree angle, pushing towards the left shoulder. I knew what I was doing.”

            “Knowing what you’re supposed to do and actually knowing how to do it are two different things,” Beca stated.

            Luke gestured to Denise Taylor. “She’s alive. Let’s just leave it at that for now. And if you’re going to argue, please do it somewhere else. Calm environment as to not disturb the patient and all.”

            Beca glared at Luke before looking back at Chloe. “A word outside, Doctor Beale.”

            Chloe sighed and left the room with Beca, leaving Luke and Aubrey in the room. Aubrey looked at what Chloe had done and nodded. “It’s clean.”

            “I know. It’s perfect,” Luke agreed.

            “She shouldn’t have done it,” Aubrey added.

            Luke sighed. “I know.”

 

 

            Chloe entered an on-call room behind Beca and the chastising immediately began again.       

            “You can’t just do things like that,” Beca said. “You haven’t been trained to do them.”

            “I’m sorry,” Chloe said, sarcastically. “We can’t all be child prodigies like you. I did what needed to be done and I saved her life.”

            Beca pointed at Chloe. “You got lucky. You are an intern. Do not pull a stunt like that again. Do you understand?”

            Chloe clenched her jaw. “Yes, Doctor Mitchell.”            

            Beca sighed and relaxed her stance. “Look, I’m not trying to be the bad guy here, okay? You did save her life. I realize that. A lot of other things could’ve gone wrong, though and would you have known how to fix them?”

            Chloe thought about it and the answer was no. She wouldn’t have known what to do. “No.”

            Beca took noticed of Chloe’s hands shaking. “What’s wrong?”

            Chloe shook her head. “It’s just the adrenaline from the procedure and then being pissed at you and now realizing how much I could’ve fucked up. God, I’m such an idiot.”

            “Just don’t be so quick to jump the gun next time.” Beca took a step forward.  

            “I didn’t think there was time,” Chloe said. “I just reacted.”

            “You did a good job,” Beca assured her. “It was a tough decision to make at the time, I’m sure.” Beca reached out for Chloe’s trembling hand and squeezed it gently. “Take a few minutes to calm down and then get back to work.” Beca released Chloe’s hand and headed for the door but Chloe gripping her wrist, stopped her.

            Beca turned her head to look at Chloe and was instantly met by soft lips on her own. Chloe’s tongue ran across her bottom lip and she immediately parted her lips to allow the redhead’s tongue to slide into her mouth. Beca hummed lightly into the kiss as it deepened. It was a few more seconds before she came to her senses and pulled away. “Chloe,” she began.

            “I shouldn’t have done that.” Chloe backed away from Beca. “It was the adrenaline and everything. Sorry.”

            “No, it’s fine,” Beca assured her. “I didn’t mind it.”

            “It shouldn’t have happened,” Chloe said, avoiding eye contact with Beca. “I should go.” She opened the door and left the on-call room, leaving Beca confused.

 

 

A few days later…

            Beca opened her eyes and rolled over to check the time. She hadn’t been sleeping. She had woken up three times during her five hours of sleep and had decided to give up on trying. Sighing, she looked up at her ceiling and the sounds of heavy rain, strong wind and thunder could be heard outside. Two things registered to her at this point: it was going to be a long day at the hospital and it was the anniversary of her mother’s death today. She found the weather to be fitting to her mood.

            Beca reluctantly got out of bed and took a deep calming breath before heading into her bathroom to take a shower. She turned on the shower to give it some time to warm up and then began to remove her clothes. She hoped this year was a bit easier than the last. She had snapped last year when her father had told her that she needed to move on. That it had been too long for her to still be like this. She did agree. She just didn’t like hearing it from him. Of the five stages of loss and grief, she had never gotten past depression and she wished she knew how to finally be free of her feelings and nightmares.

            Beca stepped into the shower and let the warm water relax her. Her thoughts wandered to Chloe. The two hadn’t had a personal conversation since their kiss. They talked work and Chloe made sure things stayed professional between them. Beca understood the reasoning behind Chloe’s actions but that didn’t make it hurt any less. She would try to talk to her today in order to clear things up. Since entering her life, Chloe had made her feel lighter somehow. She definitely wanted to be around her today because she knew Chloe would make her feel better.

            After her shower, Beca headed out into the kitchen where she found Aubrey making them breakfast.

            “Hey,” Beca greeted her.

            “Hey, have a seat. Breakfast is done.” Aubrey scooped the food onto two separate plates and set the pan back down on the stove.

            She grabbed two forks and the plates before heading into the living room.

            Beca thanked her and took the plate and fork.

            Aubrey glanced at Beca and could tell that the brunette didn’t get much sleep. “You feeling okay?”

            “No,” Beca answered honestly. “Today’s going to suck.” She picked at her food and was immediately chided by Aubrey.

            “Eat. I know you’re going to keep busy all day and not bother to eat later.”

            Beca began to eat the food even though she didn’t really have an appetite.

            Aubrey set her plate down and turned to face Beca. “You’ve been acting weird the last couple of days. You’ve hidden it well from everyone else but Luke and I have noticed. We wanted to give you time to come to us but you haven’t done that so… what’s going on Beca?”

            Beca shoved food in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to talk right away. She could tell the truth or she could lie. She hated lying to her best friends. “Chloe kissed me a few days ago. The day she did that procedure to take care of that cardiac tamponade.”

            _Of course it had something to do with Chloe._ “And what happened?” Aubrey asked.

            “And she apologized, said it shouldn’t have happened and we’ve barely spoken since,” Beca explained. “I really like her, Bree and I’m pretty sure she feels the same. I don’t know how to make our situation work.”

            “Do you want my honest opinion?” Aubrey asked.

            “When do you give anything other than your honest opinion?” Beca joked.

            Aubrey grinned. “I think you should go for it. Not today. Today you need to focus on work. But when you do get together just keep your relationship out of the hospital. If you can manage to not be caught making-out in on-call rooms, no one should find out.”

            “So you’re actually condoning this?” Beca asked, surprised.

            “I just want you happy,” Aubrey answered. “And that perky redhead makes you happy so talk to her. It’ll all work out in the end.”

 

 

 

            Chloe was in the locker room tying her shoes while Stacie and Jesse changed into their scrubs. Her mind was on Beca. She had been avoiding the brunette because she had seen her with Amelia a lot and now she was sure something was up between them.

            Stacie glanced at Chloe as she pulled her scrub top on. “You’ve been quiet these last few days.”

            Chloe looked up at Stacie. “Just trying to focus on work.” The truth was, she was torn about her situation with Beca and she was afraid to talk to her friends because she feared that they wouldn’t understand. Yes, they were her best friends but jealousy was a real thing and if they thought she was getting special treatment from Beca, their friendship would be on thin ice.

            “You can focus on work and remember to talk to your friends,” Stacie informed her. “I had to hear about your cardiac tamponade thing from one of those gossiping nurses.”

            “I got yelled at for that procedure,” Chloe said. “Nothing to brag about.”

            “Uh, you did the procedure flawlessly and saved a life,” Stacie stated. “You have major bragging rights.”

            Jesse nodded in agreement as he closed his locker. “She’s right. I heard you did a kick ass job. I don’t know why Mitchell had to be such a bitch about it.”

            “She wasn’t a bitch.” Chloe stood up from the bench. “She’s a great teacher and she was right. I shouldn’t have done it. I could’ve screwed up.”

            “Is her yelling at you why you’ve been in such a crappy mood lately?” Stacie asked. “We get yelled at by her all the time. We’re not supposed to let it affect us.”

            “It’s not that,” Chloe said. “I’m just tired. Sorry, we’ll talk later I promise.” Chloe picked up her lab coat from the bench and exited the locker room.

            “Something’s up there,” Jesse said after Chloe was gone.

            Stacie sat down on the bench and slipped her shoe on. “I know. We’ll find out what’s up later.”

            “I think maybe Doctor Mitchell is too hard on her and Chloe’s trying to prove herself,” Jesse suggested.

            “I heard it’s supposed to be a rough day in the hospital so we won’t have time to question her about anything. Come on. Let’s go save lives.”

            When they exited the locker room, they saw Doctor Posen talking to Chloe. When the blonde noticed them, she waved them over.

            “You three listen and you listen carefully. Do not bother Doctor Mitchell today. Don’t talk to her, don’t look at her, don’t even breathe near her. Do you understand?”

            “Why not?” Stacie asked.

            “Because I said not to,” Aubrey said, sternly. “Today’s going to be hellish. Do what you can. Don’t get in the way. Don’t kill anyone because of stupid mistakes. Do not let the chaos overwhelm you. Now all of you go down to the pit and wait.”

            Stacie and Jesse walked off but Chloe stayed where she was. Once her friends were far enough away, she spoke. “Is Beca okay? I know June twelfth is a tough day for her. Is there anything she needs?”

            “Yeah, for you to get your head out of your ass. It’s not a hat,” Aubrey whispered harshly.  

            “Excuse me?” Chloe asked, shocked.

            “You’re supposed to be being a friend to her and you’re not doing that,” Aubrey stated. “Stop avoiding her.”

            Aubrey walked away without another word and Chloe moved to head to the pit. The next time she saw Beca, she would talk to her. She would make things right.

 

 

            Beca was sitting on the edge of the bed in the on-call room with Amelia beside her. “I’m stupid, right? I shouldn’t be like this after sixteen years.”

            “Do I need to remind you about seeing my dad shot in front of me and how I handled that up until a few years ago?”

            “Your relapse had nothing to do with your father’s death,” Beca pointed out.

            “No, but the reason I started drinking was to deal with the emotions I never talked about growing up,” Amelia said. “Have you ever spoken to anyone about your mother’s death? Like really gotten it all out of your system?”

            Beca shook her head.

            “Well, I think you need to do that,” Amelia said. “You don’t need to carry this pain, Beca. You can talk to me, Posen, Evans, whoever you want. Just talk to someone.”

            _Chloe._ “Yeah, I think I have someone in mind.” Beca ran a hand through her hair. Aubrey, Luke and Amelia knew her story. They knew what happened, how it happened and how it affected her in the long run, but she had never sat down and had a heart to heart about her feelings.

            “Then talk to that person,” Amelia said. “You’ll feel a hell of a lot better.” Amelia stood up and Beca followed suit. They left the on-call room and Amelia took Beca’s hand, squeezing it in a comforting gesture before walking away.

            Chloe witnessed this from down the hall and felt her heart sink down to the pit of her stomach. She was just about to turn the corner when Beca saw her.

            “Doctor Beale.” Beca approached the redhead. “Can we talk?” She asked in a low voice.

            “I’m busy,” Chloe answered, curtly.

            “Please?” Beca whispered. “I won’t take up a lot of your time. I just need like ten minutes.”

            “I’m busy, Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe repeated. “You were looking pretty cozy with Doctor Shepherd. Go talk to her.”

            “Chloe-,” Beca began but her pager went off. She sighed and quickly turned to run down the hall.

            Chloe’s pager went off next, letting her know that she needed to be in the pit. She quickly ran in the direction Beca had headed.

 

Hours later…

            The doctors had been busy non-stop and Beca was fine with that. She needed to stay busy to keep her mind off of everything else. She had gotten all her patients stabilized and was thankful that she hadn’t lost one yet.

            Once trauma finally slowed down, Beca looked around and spotted Chloe shining a flashlight in a patient’s eyes.

            Chloe turned off the light and looked at the nurse who was standing nearby. “Dilation is slow. She needs an x-ray and CAT scan, stat.” Chloe scribbled something on the clipboard and handed it to the nurse before turning to walk away. She spotted Beca watching her and quickly looked for someone else to help.

            “Things are slow,” Beca said. “Can we talk?”

            Chloe shook her head. “Not now, Beca,” she whispered. “I’m upset with you and I just can’t right now.”

            “Why are you upset with me?” Beca’s pager went off and she sighed as she pulled it from her waist. When she saw that she was being paged up to the peds floor, her eyes widened and she took off without a word.

            Once on the peds floor, Beca quickly went to the room of Lana Jacobs.

            Arizona let out a breath and handed the paddles to a nurse. “We’re calling it. Time of death, nineteen-fifteen.”

            Beca squeezed her eyes shut to hold off her tears before entering the room. She looked down at Lana placed her hand over the girl’s. She stroked the back of Lana’s hand with her thumb for a few seconds before pulling away. She spotted an envelope on the nightstand with her name written on it.

            “She wrote it this morning,” Arizona said, softly as she moved to stand beside Beca. “I think maybe she had a feeling…” Arizona shook her head and wiped away a tear. Lana Jacobs had been her patient for years and she had hoped a heart would come in on time. The girl was just a bright light and never let being sick get her down. “I wanted to page you up here sooner but trauma’s been busy.”

            “Yeah” was Beca’s barely audible response. She placed the envelope in the pocket of her lab coat. “I should get back down there.”

            Arizona placed a hand on Beca’s shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?”

            Beca nodded. “Thank you for paging me.” Beca left the room and skipped the elevator, heading to the stairwell instead. As she walked down them, she began to slow in her steps until she sunk down onto the stairs, crying.  

           

           

            Her shift had ended and Beca was sitting on the hood of her car as she waited for Chloe to leave the hospital. The weather had cleared up and it was actually kind of nice out. When she spotted the redhead, she hoped down from the hood.

            “I’m tired, Beca,” Chloe immediately said.

            “We don’t have to talk,” Beca assured her. “I just need you tonight, okay? I just need you to be there.”

            Chloe noticed the pain in Beca’s eyes and could hear it in her voice. “What’s wr-,”

            “Hey, Beca!” Amelia called as she neared them.

            Chloe rolled her eyes and gestured to her car. “I’ll give you two your privacy.”

            “No, don’t leave,” Beca said but Chloe walked away anyway.

            “Sorry,” Amelia said. “Did I interrupt something?” She asked as Chloe drove off.

            Beca shook her head. “No.”

            “I heard about Lana,” Amelia said. “I’m sorry.”

            “She was a good kid,” Beca replied. “She wanted to be a dancer. And she loved Oasis. Do you know any eight-year olds who even know who that band is?”

            Amelia smiled. “Nope.”

            Beca hadn’t opened the letter that Lana had left her. She had put it in the glove compartment of her car until she could handle reading it.

            “You’re doing okay, right?” Amelia asked.

            “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Beca assured her. “I just need to sleep.”

            “Where are Aubrey and Luke?”

            “Aubrey’s finishing up with a surgery and Luke’s on-call.”

            “Well, call me if you need me,” Amelia said before heading to her car.

            Beca got into her own vehicle but instead of heading home, she headed to the bar. She could use a drink.

 

 

            Beca was sitting on the stool at the bar enjoying her drink when someone sat down beside her. “Hey, Doctor Mitchell. Rough day?”

            Beca turned her head and saw Stacie. “Yeah, you could say that. And you can call me Beca. What are you having?”

            “Rum and coke,” Stacie replied. “It’s my go to drink after a long day.”

            Beca ordered the drink for the tall brunette and looked back at her. “Did you kill anyone?”

            “No, surprisingly,” Stacie joked. “I saw a lot of blood, though.”

            Beca raised a brow. “What? Not in the job description when you decided to be a doctor?”

            Stacie laughed. “I meant I saw more than usual.” She thanked the bartender for her drink when he set it down in front of her. She sipped it and let out a content breath. “So good after such a long day.”

            Beca studied Stacie for a few seconds. She would be a good getaway. “Do you want to get out of here?”

            “What?” Stacie repeated, unsure if she had understood right.

            “We can go somewhere private.”

            Stacie grinned and downed her drink before standing up. “We can go back to my place. Chloe’s my roommate and she went back to the hospital for a bit. Beca finished her drink as well before following the brunette out of the bar.

 

 

 

            Chloe hadn’t made it far from the hospital when she turned around to head back. She was now up on the peds floor looking for Doctor Robbins.

            “Hey, Beale,” Arizona greeted her. “Did you need something?”

            “I wanted to talk to you, actually,” Chloe said. “Privately.”

            Arizona guided the woman to an empty hospital room. “What’s going on? Did you hear about Lana?”

            Chloe frowned. “What’s wrong with Lana?”

            Arizona looked at the redhead sympathetically. “She passed this afternoon. I thought Beca would’ve told you.”

            Chloe’s shoulders dropped and she sat down in a chair. Beca had probably tried to tell her but she hadn’t let the woman speak.

            “What’s going on between you two?” Arizona asked.

            “Do you have a few minutes?” Chloe asked.

            “I do,” Arizona nodded.

            Chloe explained to the woman how she had met Beca at the club and how they had slept together. She told her about how things had progressed from then until now. “I like her a lot but I don’t know how she feels about me.”

            “She’s let you in more than she’s ever let anyone else,” Arizona stated. “I think it’s safe to say she feels the same way towards you.”

            “But Amelia,” Chloe began.

            “Is a friend,” Arizona said. “Yes, they slept together once but it didn’t mean anything. Amelia was there for Beca when she was an intern. Beca doesn’t sleep well now. It was even worse when she was an intern. She started taking pills to keep her awake. I don’t know the whole story but I do know Amelia helped her when she finally hit rock bottom. They’re like sober buddies.”

            “Doctor Shepherd had an addiction problem?” Chloe asked. 

            “Alcohol and drugs,” Arizona answered. “It’s not a secret. She’ll own it. She’s a strong woman. You’ll see her at the bar because she likes to hangout but it’s not alcohol she’s drinking. And the whole attending/intern thing that you’re worried about. Yeah, it’s taboo but you’re not doing anything illegal. Why let Beca slip through your fingers because of fear? Yeah, some people’s attitudes will change towards you but ignore them. Prove them wrong and be a damn good doctor.”

            “So you think I should go for it?” Chloe asked.

            “Hell yeah!” Arizona exclaimed. “Go get your woman.”

            Chloe smiled and stood up from the chair. She hugged Doctor Robbins and thanked her before rushing out of the room.

 

 

            Stacie was catching her breath, her body covered by the bed sheet while Beca finished getting dressed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take care of you?” Everything had been one-sided. Beca hadn’t let Stacie touch her.

            “This shouldn’t have happened.” Beca finished buttoning her shirt and then slipped her shoes on.

            “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything,” Stacie promised as she sat up, holding the bed sheet to her chest.

            Beca left the room, closing the door behind her. She made her way to the front door but before she reached it, it was already being opened. _Shit._ She watched as Chloe entered the apartment, frowning in confusion when she saw her standing there.  

            Chloe’s confused looked turned into a smile. “I was at your place. No one would answer the door. I guess I know why now. I hope you haven’t been waiting for me for too long. I wanted to apologize about today and explain myself. And I’m really sorry about Lana. Arizona told me.”

            Beca didn’t know what to say. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She heard Stacie’s room door open and then her voice followed.

            “Beca you forgot your key.” She appeared wrapped in her bed sheet with Beca’s car keys dangling from her finger. She froze when she saw Chloe in the apartment, a look of heartache and confusion written all over her friend’s face.  

           


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

            “My best friend?” Chloe spat.

            “Chloe,” Beca began.

            “No, fuck you, Beca!” Chloe snapped. She turned and stormed out of the apartment.

            “What’s going on?” Stacie asked Beca.

            “I’m sorry,” Beca said to the brunette before quickly going after Chloe. “Chloe please let me talk.”

            “I don’t want to hear any of the shit you have to say to excuse yourself,” Chloe snapped, vehemently.

            Once outside, Beca caught Chloe by the hand but it was quickly yanked away. “I am so sorry, Chloe. I regret it. I wasn’t thinking.”

            “That makes it better,” Chloe said, sarcastically.

            “I had been trying to talk to you all day,” Beca stated. “I wanted to talk to you and you wouldn’t listen.”

            “So you decide to sleep with my best friend to get back at me?” Chloe asked.

            “She was there and I needed a distraction,” Beca explained.

            “That doesn’t make it okay!”

            “I know that! I know, okay? I just… I messed up.”

            “You could’ve had anyone else but you chose my best friend! You obviously wanted to hurt me.”

            “It’s not like that.”

            Chloe narrowed her eyes at Beca. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn’t sleep with Stacie to hurt me.”

            Beca took a step forward but Chloe stepped back. “It was a really bad day for me and I tried to seek solace in the one person that I wanted to be with today but you kept turning me away. I was at the bar content to just drink my night away but then Stacie showed up. I wasn’t thinking.”

            “So you didn’t think even once that you sleeping with her could hurt me?” Chloe asked, angrily.

            Beca looked down at the ground before looking back at Chloe. “Briefly, but-.”

            “No, there is no “but” here, Beca. You knew it would hurt me. You slept with her to hurt me.”

            “I didn’t sleep with her to hurt you. I just-,”

            “What? Didn’t care?” Chloe asked. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out about this?”

            “I wasn’t thinking long-term,” Beca explained.

            Chloe shook her head and turned to go back into her apartment, but Beca grasped her wrist.

            “It was stupid and I hate myself so much right now. I just wanted to lose myself for a moment in someone that wasn’t you. I wanted to not hurt. I wanted to forget about this whole day.” Beca loosened her grip on Chloe’s wrist glad that the woman hadn’t tried to pull away. She brought her hand down to Chloe’s and linked their fingers together. “It didn’t work. Chloe, I want you. I’ve been trying to tell you that all day. I want to be with you. No one else. I’ve never felt this way for anyone before. I’m not good at relationships and feelings, but with you I want to be. You just… get me. I think everything about you is amazing. You… you make my heart freak out. Like in an awesome way. I feel good when I’m around you. I’ve never experienced anything like this before but I think I’m in-,”

            “Don’t!” Chloe pulled her hand out of Beca’s. “Don’t you dare! You’ve really hurt me and if you felt the way you think you feel, then you would’ve never fallen into bed with Stacie.” Chloe was feeling emotionally exhausted and didn’t have the energy to fight anymore.

            “I’m sorry,” Beca said, softly as tears began to fall from her eyes.

            “I know you are.” Chloe ran a hand through her hair before folding her arms across her chest. “Is Aubrey home?” Chloe didn’t want the brunette to be alone tonight no matter how much she was hurting right now because of her.

            “She should be by now, yeah.” Beca turned to leave, sensing that Chloe wanted her gone.  

            Thoughts raced through Chloe’s head and her folded arms dropped to her side as she neared Beca, stopping her from leaving. “It’s not that you slept with someone. It’s that you slept with _her._ I could’ve gotten over it being anyone else but this was a stab in the back and it really fucking hurts. I know I was a bitch to you today and I am so sorry for that. I let my jealousy get the best of me and I pushed you away. It was childish. And I get it, Beca. I do. You wanted to ease the pain in your own way, but you slept with my best friend knowing it would hurt me. Even if it crossed your mind for a second, you knew it was wrong. I wanted to be with you, but right now I just need space to figure out if that’s what I still want.”

            Beca nodded and turned away again to walk to her car. Chloe watched her leave before heading back into the building. When she entered the apartment, a fully dressed Stacie was sitting on the couch.

            “What was that?” Stacie asked as soon as Chloe closed the door.         

            Chloe sighed. “My one-night stand from the club… that was Beca. We’ve slept together a few times since then, but we agreed to just be friends, which is really hard because I like her a lot. Apparently, she likes me too but I was a bitch today and pushed her into the arms of my best friend.”

            “Chloe,” Stacie began.

            “I’m not mad at you.” Chloe moved over to the couch and plopped down beside Stacie. “You didn’t know.”

            “Nope, I didn’t,” Stacie said, hurt that her friend had kept this from her.

            “Please don’t be upset. I wanted to tell you but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what you and Jesse would think of me.”

            "I'm your best friend," Stacie pointed out. "You can come to me about anything. I want to be pissed at you but I'm more pissed at Beca right now.” Stacie leaned over and wiped a tear that had spilled from Chloe’s eye.

            Chloe hadn’t even realized that she had started to cry. “I really like her, Stacie. She’s different than anyone I’ve ever been interested in. And when she looks at me with her smirk, I just turn into a puddle at her feet.” Chloe let out a breath and wiped more tears from her eyes. “Why’d she have to do this?”

            “People deal with pain in different ways,” Stacie offered. She couldn’t judge Beca too harshly. She wasn’t exactly a saint herself. She had broken many hearts. “If it helps at all, she wouldn't let me touch her. And then she looked sick after. She said it was a mistake and it shouldn't have happened. I thought it was because of the whole intern thing, but now I'm positive it was because of you."

            Chloe shook her head. "It doesn't help, but thanks."

            Stacie bit her bottom lip and then let out a sigh. "I’m really sorry.”

            Chloe rested her head on Stacie’s shoulder. “Not your fault. It’s hers… and mine. We both messed this up.”

            “Why were you a bitch to her today?"

            "I thought she was sleeping with Amelia but I was wrong," Chloe explained. "A large part of this is my fault. She needed me today and I was selfish."

            "That doesn't excuse what she did."

            "I know. I let her down, though. This could've all been avoided if I had just listened to her and not been so caught up in my jealousy.” Chloe got up from the couch and gestured to her room. “I’m just going to call it a night.”

            “Okay,” Stacie said. “Come get me if you need me.”

            Chloe headed to her room and quickly changed into shorts and a t-shirt before retrieving her phone from her jeans that she had left on the floor. She got onto her bed and opened it, going into the gallery section. She looked at the photo she had taken of herself and a sleeping Beca. She wanted to get back to how they were just a few days ago except with more honesty and less feeling avoidance. Chloe set her phone down and got under her blankets. Anger and sadness still circled within her as she drifted off to sleep but there was hope that maybe she and Beca could figure this all out.

 

 

            Beca entered her apartment and headed straight for the kitchen. Aubrey, who was sitting in the living room, got up and followed her.

            “What happened?” Aubrey asked, concerned.

            Beca pulled a beer out of the fridge. “I slept with Stacie, Chloe showed up and now she hates me.”

            Aubrey took the beer from Beca and put it back in the fridge before staring at the brunette in disbelief. “What the hell is wrong with you?! I thought you wanted to be with Chloe!”

            “I do.” Beca moved into the living room and plopped down on the couch. “I’m having a horrible day and just needed-,”

            “To make it even worse,” Aubrey cut her off. “Her best friend? Seriously, Beca. And she’s another intern at that,” Aubrey continued. “Do you not think before you act? Why do you have to be so self-destructive sometimes?”

            Beca stood up and began to walk towards her room. She couldn’t deal with this right now.

            “Beca,” Aubrey began but was ignored as Beca disappeared into her room.

            Beca changed out of her clothes and laid down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She heard her room door open but said nothing. Aubrey got onto the bed, leaving a decent-sized gap between them to respect Beca’s space.

            “Did you telling her how you feel not go well?” Aubrey asked.

            “She wouldn’t talk to me all day so I never got the chance until after everything happened,” Beca replied. “And now she wants space.”

            “Why wouldn’t she talk to you?” Aubrey asked.

            “She thought I was sleeping with Amelia,” Beca replied. “I don’t know how things got so screwed up. We were so great together and now everything’s gone to shit.”

            “You two were trying to avoid your feelings for each other,” Aubrey stated. “It caused tension… and stupidity. Get some sleep. You’ve had a long day.” Aubrey got up and turned off the light before getting back onto the bed. She curled onto her side, her back facing Beca as she closed her eyes.  

            “You don’t have to stay here,” Beca replied. “I’ll be okay.”

            “Shut up and go to bed,” Aubrey muttered, tiredly.

            “Night,” Beca said, gently. Aubrey fell asleep within a few minutes, leaving Beca to her thoughts. The brunette hoped there was something she could do to get Chloe to forgive her.

 

 

            “Holy shit,” Jesse said after Chloe and Stacie explained to them what had happened. They were in the locker room getting ready to start their shifts.

            “And none of that better get back to the nurses,” Stacie added.

            “I don’t gossip,” Jesse assured them. “I just listen to it and share it with you two. But shit, Chloe. I’m sorry that she hurt you like that.”

            “If I get put on her service, one of you will switch with me, right?” Chloe asked.

            “Of course,” Jesse said. “You should have Doctor Evans today.”

            “That’d be perfect,” Chloe said as she stood up from the bench. Doctor Evans was more of a laid-back guy. She hoped news of last night hadn’t gotten back to him. She didn’t want anyone talking to her about Beca today. She just wanted to lose herself in work.  

 

 

            “How are you feeling?” Luke asked Beca as they sat in the locker room. He had just been caught up on yesterday’s happenings and knew that Beca was probably going to deal with her problems in a less than healthy way.

            “Like a shitty human being,” Beca replied, miserably.

            “So you won’t go back out to the bar tonight?” Aubrey asked her.

            “I don’t want to sleep around anymore,” Beca assured them. “I just want Chloe. The only positive thing about yesterday is it at least solidified the fact that I’ve fallen for her and being with anyone else doesn’t feel right.”

            Luke quirked a brow. “You needed to have sex with her friend to figure that out?”

            “Can you not?” Beca already knew she messed up. She didn’t need Luke giving her shit as well as Aubrey. She was sure Stacie would have a few choice words for her as well.

            “I’m just saying that it’ll probably take some convincing for her to believe that,” Luke said. “Sleeping with her best friend probably ruined your chances of her caring about what you have to say. No offense.”

            Beca sighed. “None taken.” She got up from the bench and slipped on her lab coat. She knew she would be distracted today and that bothered her. Her personal life and work life were meshing together in a negative way. She didn’t have anyone to blame but herself for it. She had handled things the wrong way and now she might’ve lost the first person she ever wanted to wake up next to every morning. _I’ve got to get her back._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

            The interns had received their assignments and had promptly traded with one another. Chloe with Doctor Evans, Stacie with Doctor Posen and Jesse with Doctor Mitchell.

            Chloe went off to find Luke and once she was a good distance away, Stacie stopped Jesse from leaving. “Can I have Mitchell?”

            Jesse raised his brows. “For what? I thought you two wanted to stay clear from her?”

            “No, that’s Chloe. I want to talk to her,” Stacie said.

            “Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Jesse asked.

            “I just need to sort some stuff out with her.” Stacie held out her hand and Jesse handed her the trauma pager.

            “Just keep the drama to a minimum,” Jesse warned her before walking off.  

            Stacie headed down to the ER and spotted Beca looking over a chart. She went over to her and cleared her throat.

            Beca looked up with an unreadable expression. “Yes, Doctor Conrad?”

            Stacie held up the trauma pager. “I’m with you today. Is there anything you need me to do?”

            Beca shook her head. “Just wait for that to go off,” she gestured to the pager.

            “Okay.” Stacie stayed where she was as Beca went back to reading the form on the clipboard.

            Beca looked back up at the intern. “Was there anything else?”

            Stacie nodded. “There’s a lot more.”

            Beca signed the form and handed it back to the nurse before walking to a secluded corner with Stacie. “Look, before you say anything, I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. What I did was idiotic and it hurt Chloe. And possibly you.”

            Stacie shook her head. “I’m fine. You should focus on making it up to Chloe. She really likes you and now she’s walking around all un-perky. Chloe’s the happiest person I know and you broke her. I honestly don’t know if this is fixable but you better damn well try.”

            “I will,” Beca assured her. Before she could say anything else, her pager went off. “Come on,” she said to Stacie as they went out to the ambulance bay.

            Within seconds an ambulance was there and the EMTs pulled the patient out of the back. “Twenty-three year old female. Overdose on codeine.” The EMT held up the empty bottle. “We’ve been doing CPR but there’s been no response.”

            Beca went to feel for a pulse but felt nothing. Images of her own mother on the floor of their home hit her and she squeezed her eyes shut. They quickly got the patient into the ER and Stacie grabbed a crash cart, handing the paddles to Beca.

            Five minutes passed and Beca was still trying to bring the girl back. “Doctor Mitchell,” Stacie said.

            “I know.” Beca handed the paddles to Stacie and walked off without another word.

            Stacie covered the patient fully and closed the curtains around her before going after Beca. “Doctor Mitchell.”

            Beca went into an on-call room and sat down on the edge of the bed.  

            Stacie entered the room and looked at the brunette. Beca had her elbows resting on her knees and her face buried in her hands. “Hey, are you okay?”

            “I just need a moment,” Beca said through her hands. “I’ll be right out.”

            “Are you sure?” Stacie asked. “Do you want to talk about it?”

            “Not particularly, no,” Beca replied. “Just please give me a few minutes.”

            Stacie left the room and was about to walk off when she saw Luke and Chloe walking her way.

            “Conrad,” Luke said. “Have you seen, Mitchell? I need another set of eyes to look at this lab.”

            Stacie gestured behind her at the on-call room. “She’s, um, preoccupied right now.”

            Luke quirked a brow. “Preoccupied?”

            Stacie nodded. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she said in a low voice. “We had a patient brought in. DOA. She overdosed on codeine. Doctor Mitchell spent minutes trying to bring her back. Anyway, she’s upset and wants to be left alone for a few minutes.”

            Luke tilted his head to the side, gesturing for Stacie to move aside. She did so and as he reached for the doorknob, his pager went off. Sighing, he looked at his pager. “James Wesley needs that surgery sooner than we had planned. Feel like scrubbing in?”

            Chloe nodded. “Of course.”

            Luke looked back at Stacie. “Can you get Doctor Posen over here to check on her, please?”

            Chloe couldn’t shake the feeling of needing to be there for Beca and decided she could pass on the surgery. “Wait. I’ll check on her,” Chloe said, gesturing to the door. “Stacie can scrub in with you… if that’s okay.”

            Luke was surprised by this and smiled at Chloe appreciatively. “Thank you. Conrad let’s move.”

            “Are you sure?” Stacie asked Chloe.

            Chloe nodded. “Go ahead.” Once Stacie had left, Chloe opened the door and stepped inside.

            “Conrad it’s barely been a minute,” Beca said.

            “What’s wrong?” Chloe asked.

            Beca looked up in shock. She wasn’t expecting to hear Chloe’s voice. “Stacie shouldn’t have gotten you. You don’t have to do this.”

            “No one’s making me do anything.” Chloe leaned against the wall across the room and let herself slide down onto the floor. “Why are you upset? Stacie said you had a DOA.”

            Beca ran a hand through her hair. She was silent for a minute before speaking. “My mom suffered from depression. I didn’t know that until after I found her.”

            Chloe’s heart broke for Beca but she stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt the brunette as she opened up to her.

            “I’ve always felt that it was my fault… and my dad’s. If we had paid attention, been there for her, we could’ve helped her. My dad was too obsessed with work and I was too focused on working hard to get him to notice me. To love me… to care. Anything.”

            “Beca, you were ten,” Chloe said, soothingly. “You can’t blame yourself for something you had no control over.”

            “I should’ve been there for her,” Beca said, softly. “I tried to bring her back. I tried so hard. I have continuous nightmares about it. That’s why it’s hard for me to sleep. I’ve only ever slept a peaceful night when you were with me.”

            “Beca,” Chloe began.

            “I’m just being honest,” Beca replied as she reached into her lab coat to pull out an envelope. “Can you stay here while I read this?”

            “What is it?” Chloe asked, curiously.

            “Lana left me a letter.”

            “Go ahead,” Chloe said. “I won’t go anywhere.”

            Beca took a deep breath and opened the envelope.

            _Hi, Beca! Thanks for playing Go Fish with me all the time. It really made me happy. Being at the hospital wasn’t so bad with people like you and Arizona to keep me company. I wish I would’ve gotten to know Chloe better. She seems really nice. She talked about you a lot when we played together. I think she likes you. You know how much I like cake? I think she likes you that much. I’m not feeling really good today so I’m going to take a nap now but I’ll see you later. –Lana_

          Beca smiled sadly and folded the letter back up. “Lana says she wishes she would’ve gotten to know you better.”

            Chloe smiled. “She was a sweet kid. I’m glad I got a chance to meet her.”

            “Yeah, she was something,” Beca agreed. She placed the letter back in her lab coat. “Hey, thanks for this. I know I’m not your favorite person right now.”

            Chloe stood up from the floor. “Just because I think you’re a complete asshole doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. It doesn’t change anything, though. I still need my space. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

            “I understand,” Beca said. “I can respect that.”

            “Thank you.”

            Beca watched Chloe leave the room and sighed. She really wanted to work to get Chloe’s friendship back but she needed to give her the space she needed. It would be hard but she would do it in hopes that Chloe would eventually be ready to work things out.

           

            Three weeks. Three whole weeks since Beca had engaged in a conversation with Chloe that didn’t involve work. She couldn’t take it anymore and had decided to try some things out to see how Chloe would react.

            “I’ll be out in a minute,” Beca said to Luke before she entered the interns’ locker room. She found Chloe’s locker and taped a single red rose to the front of it and then a notecard with ‘Chloe’ scribbled on the front of it. She quickly left the locker room and looked at Luke. “Do you think this is a bad idea?”

            Luke grinned as he followed Beca away from the locker room. “I think it’s sweet. I hope it works out for you.”

            “Yeah, me too. Thanks for being my lookout.”

            They spotted Aubrey walked their way and could tell the blonde knew they were up to something.

            “What are you two doing?” Aubrey stopped in front of them and folded her arms across her chest.

            “Nothing,” Beca and Luke responded at the same time.

            Aubrey turned her attention to Luke and quirked a brow. “Try again.”

            Luke sighed, knowing that look and knowing the outcome if he lied to his girlfriend. “Operation ‘Get Beale Back’ is a go,” Luke replied with a grin.

            “Come again,” Aubrey said, voice filled with confusion.

            “I’m trying to win Chloe back over,” Beca explained. “I left a rose and an anonymous note on her locker. Beca was surprised when Aubrey actually looked relieved.

            “Thank god,” the cardio surgeon breathed out. “I’m tired of you moping around. I thought you’d never get it together.”

            Beca looked at her best friend in disbelief. “You agreed that I should keep things professional until she came to me and was ready to be friends again.”

            “That was before I knew you two would be wandering around like depressed puppies. You obviously miss each other. You should just talk.”

            “It won’t be that easy,” Beca assured her. “I’m going to have to work for this one and I’m very willing to do just that.”

           

 

 

            Chloe entered her locker room with Jesse and Stacie, immediately noticing the items on her locker. She looked at Stacie and then Jesse as if they held an explanation for this.

            “Don’t look at us,” Stacie replied as she reached for the note but got her hand slapped away by Chloe.

            Chloe took the rose and smiled as she twirled it between her fingers. She then pulled the note from the locker and turned it around to read it.

            _Your smile was the first thing I noticed about you. It was captivating. Your smile reached up to your beautiful eyes and made them shine in the most magnificent way. You, Chloe Beale, have a beauty that would rival any Greek goddess._

Chloe bit her bottom lip to try to contain her smile as she read the note.

            “Is there a name?” Jesse asked.

            Chloe shook her head but she didn’t need a name. She knew who this was.

            “We can match the handwriting with the doctors’ and find out who it is,” Jesse offered.

            Chloe turned the note around to show that it had been typed, cut out and pasted onto the notecard.

            “Clever,” Jesse replied. “Who do you think it is?”

            “Don’t be dense,” Stacie said to the man as she took the card to read it over. “This is totally Beca.” She looked up at Chloe. “What are you going to do?”

            “Not give in,” Chloe replied, taking the note back. She opened her locker and placed it inside along with her rose.

            “Seriously?” Stacie frowned. “That was so sweet.”

            “I’m not forgiving her after one note,” Chloe replied. “She slept with you, remember?”

            “I do recall that, but I also remember you telling me she tried to confess her love for you,” Stacie said. “Beca only wants you. Yes, she fucked up majorly and deserved to be iced out for a while but you can’t deny the chemistry you two have.”  

            “I also can’t deny how hurt I still get when I think about what happened,” Chloe said.

            Chloe and Stacie both turned to look at Jesse. “What?” the man asked as he changed his clothes.    

            “What would you do?” Chloe asked.

            “I believe in second chances within reason,” Jesse said. “And I think she deserves one. You two weren’t actually together when she slept with Stacie. Actually, from what you’ve told us, you had made it clear that you just wanted to be friends.”

            “You might need to stop talking at any moment now,” Stacie warned.

            “I’m not condoling what she did,” Jesse assured them. “I’m just saying people make mistakes. Some more than others and some in a more massive way than others, but Beca knows that she screwed up and she wants to make things right. Should you forgive her right off the bat? Of course not, but I do think you two should try again. And being one hundred percent honest with each other about your feelings is a good start.”

            Chloe let Jesse’s words sink in as she changed into her scrubs. She did want to go see Beca to ask her about the note. After quickly changing, Chloe slipped on her shoes and told her friends she would catch up with them later before she left the locker room.

 

 

            Beca was changing around her schedule on the OR board when Chloe approached her.

            “Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe greeted her.

            “Doctor Beale,” Beca said as she continued to write on the board.  

            “Did you happen to leave something on my locker this morning?” Chloe asked.  

            Beca stopped what she was doing to look at Chloe. “Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            Chloe could tell that Beca was lying but decided to play along. “Well, someone left me a rose and a notecard taped to my locker. It was really sweet.”

            Beca smiled at Chloe. “You deserve sweet things and I hope this secret admirer of yours is worthy.”

            Chloe returned the smile. “She just might be,” she said before walking away.

            Beca smiled, happy to know that Chloe hadn’t totally written her off. She would continue to try to prove to the redhead that she would do whatever it takes to make things up to her. Hopefully what she came up with would be enough.

           


	17. Chapter 17

 

**Chapter Seventeen**

            Beca knocked on her father’s already open office door and he gestured for her to come in as he finished his phone call. Beca sat down on the chair across from him and waited for him to finish. She looked around his office at the plaques on the wall behind him before letting her mind drift off to Chloe. The rose and notecard had been a start and since she received a positive reaction, she could now try to have an actual conversation with the redhead. Beca was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her father hang up the phone.

            “Hey, what brings you up here?” Ethan asked.

            “I resent you,” Beca said, simply. “I’ve resented you for a long time and it isn’t healthy.”

            Ethan sat back in his chair, remaining silent so his daughter could say all she needed to.

            “You should’ve been home more. Your family should’ve meant something to you,” Beca continued. “My interest in medicine as a kid was solely to gain your love. I love being a doctor but I had to sacrifice so much of myself to get here. I’m a twenty-six year old attending. My whole life has been about medicine and getting you to acknowledge me. I have so many problems that I haven’t dealt with and they’re messing up my personal life.”

            “What do you want me to do, Beca?” Ethan asked. “I can’t change the past. I know I wasn’t a father to you. I wasn’t built to raise a child. I did the best I could. I do love you and I want to work this out. I want to be able to have a conversation with you that doesn’t end in an argument. I’m sorry for everything and I would like for us to move forward. I hate how things are between us.”

            “I’ll think about it. I’m going to start trying to get my life together and I just needed to get that off of my chest.” Beca said as she stood up. “Thanks for listening.”

            Ethan nodded. “You can talk to me about anything. I am here for you despite what you might think.”

            “I’ll try to remember that,” Beca said before leaving the office.

 

            Chloe was walking with Stacie to the pit when she heard her name spoken by a resident.

            “Yeah, Beale has Mitchell wrapped around her finger,” a resident was saying. “Allen says Mitchell plays favorites when it comes to her.”

            “God,” one of the other residents scoffed. “We don’t need another Bryant Miller running around.”

            “Hey, come on,” another jumped in. “I heard Beale is pretty great.”

            “Yeah, probably great in bed, which is probably why Mitchell favors her.”

            Chloe felt her heart break because of the residents’ words. She hadn’t studied hard and busted her ass through medical school for people to think she was sleeping her way through her internship. Chloe turned a corner to avoid the residents and Stacie quickly followed her.

            “They’re idiots, Chloe,” Stacie said. “You can’t listen to any of that.”

            “Let’s just get to the pit,” Chloe said, not wanting to talk about it right now.

 

 

            Beca made her way to the pit and found Chloe talking to a nurse. “Sorry, may I speak to Doctor Beale for a moment?” The nurse headed off and Beca looked at Chloe. “Hey, I have a lung transplant today. I was wondering if you’d want to scrub in.”

            Chloe shoved her hands into her pockets. “That depends. Are you asking to get back into my good graces?”

            “I just thought you’d like to scrub in on a surgery instead of being in the pit,” Beca said.

            “Stacie’s working the pit as well,” Chloe pointed out. “Why didn’t you ask her?”

            Beca frowned. “Because I let her scrub in on one of my surgeries yesterday and I thought I should give someone else the opportunity.”

            “I don’t want special treatment,” Chloe said.

            Beca was confused. She thought Chloe would be jumping at this chance. “It’s not special treatment. What is this? I thought we were good this morning.”

            “I don’t want you using your position as an attending to give me opportunities that you otherwise wouldn’t have given me just because you think it’ll make things right between us. I want to earn my place in an OR.”

            “You’ve been working hard since you’ve started here,” Beca said. “I recognize that and I want you in an OR with me. That’s not favoritism.”

            “I think you were right about trauma not being a specialty for me,” Chloe said. “I think maybe I am a peds person. And I think this,” she gestured between them, “should stay professional. I need to focus on my medical career and you’ve just been a huge distraction. I hope you understand.”

            “Don’t worry. This will be completely professional from here on out.” Beca said, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice as she walked away.

           

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Two months later…

            Beca was in the OR with the interns as they watched her do a splenectomy. The spleen of the thirty-two year old woman had been ruptured in a car accident. “Suction,” Beca said to the nurse who quickly suctioned up the blood. “Who can tell me what needs to be done first?”

            Jesse was the first to speak. “You divide the colo-splenic ligaments.”

            “No. Can someone else give me a correct answer?”

            “The splenic hi-lum needs to be clamped,” Chloe responded.     

            “Why?” Beca asked without looking up from her patient.

            “The splenic hi-lum is prone to iatrogenic injury during a splenectomy.”

            Beca clamped the splenic hi-lum. “What do I do now?”

            “Now you divide the colo-splenic ligaments,” Jesse jumped in.

            Beca began to do that carefully and once she was done her attention returned to the interns. “And now?”

            “The short vessels need to be clamped, ligatured and divided,” Chloe answered. She watched as Beca began to do as she said. She would be lying if she said she was over the brunette. She missed the nights where they would just talk and enjoy each other’s company. Now they were just teacher and student. That’s what Chloe had wanted but she hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be to get over Beca Mitchell. Chloe felt a nudge on her side, which brought her from her thoughts.

            “I’m sorry, Doctor Beale, is this surgery boring you?” Beca asked.

            “No, Doctor Mitchell it isn’t,” Chloe replied, mentally chastising herself for getting lost in her thoughts.

            “The next time I catch you day-dreaming during a surgery is the last time you’ll be in my OR,” Beca said.

            “I understand. It won’t happen again,” Chloe assured her.

            “Conrad,” Beca began. “What needs to be done now?”

            “It’s safe to ligature and section the splenic hi-lum,” Stacie said.

            The door to the OR opened and Kepner was there, covering her face with a surgical mask as she spoke. “How long before you’re done?”

            “An hour or so,” Beca replied.

            “I’m going to get someone else to finish this for you,” Kepner replied. “Once your replacement gets here, you need to get to the ER. I’ll need to take the interns now.”

            “What’s going on?” Beca asked as she continued to focus on her surgery.

            “A rollercoaster came off track,” Kepner explained. “A lot of people were hurt.”

            “You three go,” Beca said to the interns.

            Chloe, Stacie and Jesse left the OR and rushed down to the ER with April Kepner.

 

            “Sir,” Chloe said, sternly as a man tried to get up from the gurney. “You need to stay still. You have a lot of injuries and you’re making them worse.”

            The man continued to try to get up from the bed. “I need to find my girlfriend!”

            “I can find her for you if you can tell me her name and what she looks like,” Chloe assured him as she kept him pinned to the gurney by his shoulders.

            Beca noticed the man giving Chloe a hard time and grabbed a sedative before going over and sticking the man in the neck with it. It instantly calmed down and Chloe removed her hands from his shoulders.

            “Thank you,” Chloe said.

            “No problem,” Beca said before heading back over to where she had been standing looking over a patient.

            Aubrey entered the ER and went over to Beca. “You wanted an update on the soccer coach?”

            “Yeah,” Beca replied. “How is he?”

            “Callie had to amputate,” Aubrey said. “There was no possible way to save his leg.”  
            Beca sighed and shook her head. “This day really sucks.”

            “That’s an understatement.” Aubrey looked over at Chloe who had moved on to suturing a woman’s arm. “Have you two gotten it together yet? This whole “we don’t have feelings for each other” thing that you’re doing is giving me constant headaches.”

            “What am I supposed to do, Bree?” Beca asked in a low voice. “She wants to focus on her internship.”

            “And Stacie told you that was because she overheard some residents talking about her,” Aubrey pointed out. “She’s still into you.”

            “I can’t keep up with what she wants and doesn’t want,” Beca said. “Besides, it’s been two months. I’m pretty sure this is how things are just going to be from now on.”

            “So you’re over her?” Aubrey asked. “Because you haven’t been to a club in months and when we go to the bar, you don’t pay attention to any of the women who hit on you.”

            “I’ve changed,” Beca replied.

            “Yeah, because you only want one woman,” Aubrey said. “And she happens to be standing over there.”

            “And I can’t have her,” Beca reminded her best friend.

            Two EMTs and a resident rushed into the ER pushing a gurney.

            “Eighteen-year old female. She was found trapped under the debris of the rollercoaster,” an EMT explained. “She was conscious but she passed out in the AMBU.”

            “She has several lacerations, possible internal bleeding and a concussion,” the other EMT added.

            “Let’s get her to an OR,” Beca said as she and Aubrey took over pushing the gurney. “Do we know her name?” She called to an EMT.

            A girl rushed over crying frantically. “That’s my friend! We were on the ride together.” The girl had her arm in a sling and several scratches on her face. “Is she going to be okay?”

            “We’re going to do the best we can,” Beca said. “What’s her name?”

            “Jessica. Jessica Beale,” the girl cried. “Please help her.”

            “We’ll do our best,” Aubrey said before looking at Beca. “Beale?”

            “Let’s just focus on saving her life,” Beca said as they continued to make their way to an OR.

 

            Stacie finished suturing a cut on a young man’s forehead before getting a nurse to finish up for her. As she moved to check on the other patients, she spotted a familiar face. “Danielle?”

            The eighteen-year old girl looked up at Stacie. “Ohmygod, Stacie. Is Jessica okay?”

            Stacie frowned. “Jessica’s here?”

            Danielle nodded. “She didn’t even want to go to the stupid amusement park but I told her not to be lame and… fuck. I haven’t even caller her parents yet.”

            “I’ll be right back.” Stacie rushed off to the nearest OR, grabbing a surgical mask before entered the room. “Who are you operating on?”

            Torres glanced at the intern before returning her attention to the patient. “A Marcus Flint. Why?”

            “I’m looking for someone.” Stacie closed the door before rushing to the next operating room. After several attempts at looking for Jessica, Stacie opened the OR door where Beca and Aubrey were operating.

            “Who are you operating on?” Stacie asked, holding the surgical mask up to her face.

            “You’re supposed to be in the pit,” Beca said. “Go back there now. Clamp.” The nurse handed Beca a clamp.

            “I’m looking for a Jessica. Are you operating on a Jessica?” Stacie asked, frantically.

            “…yes,” Beca replied. “Jessica Beale. Is she related to-,”

            “Yes,” Stacie replied. “Shit! Is she going to be okay?”

            “We don’t know yet,” Beca replied. “She has an aortic rupture and several other injuries.”

            “It’s not looking good,” Aubrey informed her. “Her family should be notified if they haven’t been already.”

            A slew of curse words left Stacie’s mouth as she closed the door. She took a deep breath to gain her bearings before rushing back to the ER. She spotted Chloe drinking a bottle of water by the front desk and quickly went over to her.

            “Chloe,” Stacie began.

            “Hey, Stace,” Chloe said, as she screwed the cap back on the bottle. “Hell of a day, huh?”

            “I need you to come with me,” Stacie said.

            “I can’t leave. There’s too much going on,” Chloe stated. “It hasn’t even really slowed down much.”

            “It’s important,” Stacie said.

            Chloe could hear the urgency in her friend’s voice. “Okay.” She followed Stacie to an on-call room. “What’s going on?”

            “Jessica is here,” Stacie said. “She was on that ride.”

            Chloe’s eyes widened and her grip on the water bottle tightened. “Is she okay?”

            “Mitchell and Posen are operating on her right now,” Stacie said. “She has a lot of injuries. They’re trying to repair an aortic rupture but… they said it’s not looking good.”

            Chloe moved to sit on the edge of the bed as she tried to wrap her mind around what Stacie had just said to her. “That’s the second leading cause of-,”

            “Don’t. Don’t do that. Statistics don’t matter right now,” Stacie said. “Jessica is a fighter. She will be okay.”

            Chloe stood up from the bed. “She’ll need a blood transfusion. We’re the same blood type. I should go let them know that.” Chloe was speaking monotonously and Stacie knew her friend was just doing her best to keep it together. “Can you call-,”

            “I’m all over it,” Stacie said. “Don’t worry.” She told Chloe which OR to go to and watched the redhead leave. “Please let her be okay,” Stacie whispered before leaving the room as well.

 

 

            Chloe entered the operating room and was met by the sounds of the EKG flat lining but let out a breath of relief when the beeping began.

            “We’ve got her back,” Beca said. “We need to close her up. She can’t take anymore surgery right now.”

            “Beale you can’t be in here,” Aubrey said when she noticed the woman. “I’m sorry.”

            “We have the same blood type,” Chloe explained. “She needs a blood transfusion doesn’t she?”

            “She does,” Aubrey said. “She’s in critical condition. She’ll need the transfusion and then after some rest, she’ll need another surgery.” Aubrey looked at Beca. “I can close her up.”

            Beca nodded and exited the OR with Chloe. She tossed her gloves into a waste container along with her surgical gown and mask. “We’re going to do the best we can, Chloe. I promise you she’s in good hands.”

            Chloe wiped the tears that had begun to spill from her eyes “I know.” She took a deep breath to calm herself but began sobbing.

            Beca pulled her into an on-call room and wrapped her arms around her. Chloe clung onto the brunette, burying her face into her shoulder as she cried.  

           


	19. Chapter 19

  **Chapter Nineteen**

Several hours later, Beca entered the hospital room where Jessica had been placed. Chloe was sitting on a chair near the bed as she looked after the girl.

            “She’s only eighteen,” Chloe said without taking her eyes off her sister. “And I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t even made time to hang out with her. She just started at Barden University and I think she mentioned joining an a cappella group. She’s a really good singer. We used to sing together all the time.”

            Beca walked further into the room and placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “Most people wouldn’t have made it through what she has so far. She’s a fighter.”

            Chloe brought her hand up to place it on top of Beca’s. She squeezed it gently as she spoke. “Thank you.”

            “It’s late. You should get some sleep,” Beca said. “I know you won’t leave, but you should at least take a nap in an on-call room.”

            “And what about you?” Chloe asked. It was two in the morning. She had talked her parents into going home and things around the hospital were quiet. Aubrey was resting in an on-call room so she would be available if anything happened to Jessica.

            “I was about to head to an on-call room,” Beca assured her. “I just wanted to check in. I’ll see you a little later.”

            Beca pulled her hand away from Chloe’s shoulder and the redhead missed the touched immediately.

            “Beca,” Chloe said, softly. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been these last two months. Being a doctor is everything I’ve ever wanted and I couldn’t risk that.”

            “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I understand,” Beca said.

            “I miss you,” Chloe admitted. “A lot. Do you think we could get back to being friends?” 

            “You should think about that,” Beca said. “If you still feel that way once things calm down, then we can definitely be friends again.” Emotions were running high for Chloe right now and she wanted to give the redhead time to think about what she really wanted.

            “That’s fair,” Chloe said. “You should go rest.”

            Beca bent down and placed a kiss on Chloe’s temple before leaving the room. Chloe smiled to herself at the comforting gesture before resting her head on the side of the bed. She was exhausted but couldn’t bring herself to leave her sister’s side. The younger girl at least looked to be making it through the night without any major issues.

 

           

            Beca wasn’t sure if she had even been sleeping for more than a few minutes when she heard her pager going off. She looked at it and cursed as she rushed out of the on-call room. As she neared Jessica’s room, she could hear Aubrey and Amelia’s voice.

            “We need to get her back into surgery now,” Aubrey said.

            Beca looked at Chloe who was crying in the corner before she went over to the cardio surgeon. “Do you need me for this?”

            “It’s okay. Stay with Chloe,” Aubrey said as she left the room with Amelia.

            Beca went over to Chloe and hugged her tightly. “Sh, it’ll be okay. Let’s get you a bed. You need to rest.”

            Chloe allowed Beca to guide her out of the room to an on-call room. They both sat on the bed, side by side. Chloe wiped her tears away and let out a deep breath.

            “Hey, come here.” Beca placed an arm over Chloe’s shoulder and pulled her closer.

            Chloe rested her head on Beca’s shoulder and let out a sigh. “Thanks for staying with me. I know it’s probably weird since we’ve been…the way we’ve been.”

            “Don’t worry about that right now,” Beca said. “I do have a question, though.”

            “Yeah?” Chloe asked.

            “Do you really want to be a peds surgeon?” Beca asked. “Because since you’ve started your internship, you’ve had your heart set on trauma and I wouldn’t want you to change that because of me.”

            “I just thought it’d be easier for the both of us if I was somewhere else,” Chloe explained.

            “I think it’d be stupid for you to do something you didn’t want to do just because a few residents are assholes,” Beca said. “You’ve proven yourself and I’ve never taken it easy on you or played favorites.”

            “You know about that?” Chloe was surprised.

            “I do,” Beca said. “And I wish you would’ve talked to me instead of shutting me out.”

            “I know. I should’ve told you,” Chloe agreed.

            “And I shouldn’t have slept with your best friend,” Beca added. “We’ve both been stupid in dealing with… whatever this is.”

            Chloe smiled softly. “Your fuck up was worse than mine.”

            Beca chuckled. “Yeah, I agree.” Beca took a deep breath and thought about her next words before speaking. “I want us to start over, Chloe. We could use a clean slate if you think you can forgive me. I don’t want an answer now. Just something for you to think about later.”

            “I don’t need to think about it,” Chloe said. “I meant it when I said I miss you. I’d love for us to try to be friends again.”

            “I guess that’s settled then,” Beca said. “Friends?”

            “Friends,” Chloe confirmed.

            “So your sister is in an a cappella group?” Beca asked.

            Chloe smiled. “Yeah, the Barden Bellas.”

            “A cappella is a thing now, right?” Beca asked.

            “Definitely,” Chloe said.

            “Tell me more about your sister,” Beca said.

            As Chloe launched into childhood stories about her sister, Beca hoped that Aubrey and Amelia were making it so that Chloe would have plenty of more experiences with her sister.

 

 

            Beca was lying on the bed beside Chloe as she slept. The redhead had tried to fight it but it soon became too hard for her to do so. Beca had been watching her sleep for a few minutes, not wanting to move too much out of fear of waking her up. Once she was sure her movements wouldn’t disturb Chloe, she got up from the bed. She took off her lab coat and laid it over Chloe before she quietly made her way out of the on-call room and down to the OR where Jessica was being operated on. Just as she neared the door, she saw the girl being wheeled out. Aubrey and Amelia exited the OR after a few seconds and tossed their gloves, gown and mask into the waste bin nearby.

            “Hey,” Beca said. “How’d everything go?”

            “It was touch and go for a while,” Amelia said. “That girl’s a fighter.”

            “She’s not in the clear yet but the worst of it is over,” Aubrey added. “Where’s Chloe?”

            “She’s asleep,” Beca said. “We should let her sleep. I’ll tell her the news when she wakes up. Are you two going home?”

            “Yes, I need a hot shower and my bed,” Amelia replied.

            “Stacie and Jesse are still here. I paged them. They should be over here soon.”

            Aubrey and Amelia walked off, heading to the locker room to finally head home. Beca went back to the on-call room and closed the door gently. She moved to the other side of the room and sat down on the floor. She would get back into the bed with Chloe but she figured if they were going to be friends then they had to start acting like it. She leaned the back of her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

 

 

            When Chloe woke up a few hours later, she found Beca sleeping on the floor. She smiled at the sight as she sat up in bed. She took notice of Beca’s lab coat over her and her smile widened. As she moved the coat to the side, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the pocket. Curiosity getting the best of her, she pulled it out and unfolded the paper to reveal the note that Lana had left for Beca.

            After she was done reading it, she tucked the note back in Beca’s lab coat. Lana had been right and Chloe’s feelings for Beca definitely hadn’t changed. They couldn’t be together, though. Not right now. The timing just wasn’t right and they both needed to get back into a good place with one another. Maybe one day they could be something more or maybe they’d end up as one of those friends who should’ve been but never were.

            Chloe got up from the bed and stretched before moving to kneel down in front of Beca. “Hey,” she brushed strands of hair from Beca’s face. “Beca.” She shook her gently.

            Beca opened her eyes slowly and lifted her head. “What time is it?” She asked, groggily.

            Chloe looked at her watch. “Nine.”

            Beca moved to get up and winced as she rubbed her neck.

            “Shit!” Chloe exclaimed after the time of day had sunk in. “It’s nine. Why haven’t Aubrey or Amelia paged us?” She moved to leave but Beca stopped her.

            “I spoke to them last night,” Beca said. “Jessica made it through surgery okay but she’s still not in the clear yet. I should’ve told you last night but I didn’t want to wake you.”

            Chloe let out a sigh of relief. “No, it’s okay. I should go check on her. Thanks for everything, Beca. I really appreciate it.”

            Chloe left the room and Beca grabbed her lap coat from the bed before leaving as well. As she was making her way to the cafeteria for some coffee, she was stopped by Arizona.

            “Hey, how’s Chloe?” Arizona asked. “I heard about her sister.”

            She’s doing okay,” Beca replied. “Her sister’s hanging in there.”

            “Have you been here since yesterday?” Arizona took in Beca’s appearance. It didn’t look like the brunette had gotten a good night’s sleep with the bags under her eyes.

            “Yeah, I didn’t want to leave without knowing things would be okay,” Beca explained. “I got some sleep, though. Hey, where’s your wife? My neck is killing me.”

            Arizona smirked. “You want to use my wife for her hands?”

            Beca rubbed her neck. “Yes, I slept on a floor and I can’t operate with a sore neck. I need your wife’s hands.”

            “She does have magical hands.”

            “Who has magical hands?” Callie handed Arizona a cup of coffee before sipping her own.

            “You do,” Arizona informed her as she handed Beca her coffee. She needed it more.

            “Thank you,” Beca said as she inhaled the coffee before sipping it. “My neck is killing me, Torres. Please help.”

            Callie laughed and handed her wife her coffee before moving to stand behind Beca. Arizona sipped Callie’s coffee as she watched her wife work her magic. Several cracks were heard and Beca let out a satisfied sigh. “I think I want to keep you.”   

            “Finders keepers,” Arizona said, jokingly. “All mine. But since we’re on the topic, what are you and Chloe doing?”

            “Up until last night I had no idea,” Beca replied. “But we talked and we’re going to try to be friends.”

            “Just friends might be good for you two,” Callie said. “For a while at least.”

            “I don’t think it’ll ever go past that stage,” Beca said. “A romantic relationship just isn’t in the cards for us.”

            “And you’re okay with that?” Arizona asked.

            “Not at all but I’d rather have her as a friend than not have her in my life,” Beca explained. “I need to head to the pit. Thank you for the coffee,” she said to Arizona. “And thank you for the massage,” she said to Callie before walking away.

            “Twenty bucks says they do it by the end of the week,” Callie whispered to Arizona who chuckled in response.  

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

A few days later…

            Chloe entered her sister’s hospital room and saw the girl sitting up in bed reading a magazine. She smiled and knocked on the door to gain her attention.

            Jessica looked up and smiled at the redhead. “Hey, you.”

            “How are you feeling?” Chloe asked as she walked further into the room.

            “Happy to be able to leave,” Jessica said. “I’m tired of sitting in this bed.”

            “You’re still going to have to take it easy,” Chloe warned her. “Mom and dad should be here soon to free you.”

            “Hey, Beale,” Beca entered the room and smiled at the sisters.

            “Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe greeted her.

            Beca smirked. “Not you. I was talking to my favorite Beale.”

            Chloe rolled her eyes but a smile tugged at her lips. Beca and Jessica got along well and found entertainment in teasing her. “Well your favorite Beale is leaving today so you’ll be stuck with me.”

            Beca grinned. “I guess that’ll be okay.” She looked at Jessica. “How are you feeling?”

            “I’m feeling fine,” Jessica assured her. “Ready to not be stuck here.”

            “You’ll have to take it easy,” Beca said. “None of that a cappella choreography stuff for a while.”

            Jessica playfully glared at the doctor. “Are you making fun of me?”

            “You’ve got to admit, a cappella is kind of lame.”

            “It’s awesome,” Jessica disagreed. “Chloe and Stacie were Barden Bellas before they dropped out after two years to focus on getting their medical degrees.”

            “Uh, is that right?” Beca laughed. “Chloe failed to mention that.”

            “Must’ve slipped my mind,” Chloe said, innocently.

            “Are there like YouTube videos of this?” Beca asked.

            Amelia stuck her head into the room and smiled. “Hey, guys. Sorry to break up this party but I need to steal Doctor Mitchell from you.”

            Beca said goodbye to Jessica and told Chloe she would see her later before leaving with Amelia.

            “So, she’s hot,” Jessica said with a grin. “And I’ve seen the way you look at her when she’s around.”

            “She’s an attending,” Chloe added. “I can’t go there again.”

            Jessica quirked an eyebrow. “Again?”

            Chloe ran a hand through her hair. “It’s complicated. We’ve decided being friends is the best thing for us.”

            “And is that what you want?” Jessica asked.

            “It’s what’s best,” Chloe answered. “I have to go back to the ER but I’ll try to stop by before you leave.” Chloe left the room and as she walked down the hall, she saw Bumper Allen walking in her direction. “Great,” she muttered.

            Bumper grinned, mischievously at the sight of Chloe. “Well, if it isn’t Doctor Mitchell’s lapdog.”

            “Lay off, Bumper. I’ve been staying out of your way so I’d appreciate it if you’d stay out of mine.”

            “Oh, come on, Beale,” Bumper grinned. “What do you expect when you’re slippin’ it to an attending?”

            “I don’t have time for you.” Chloe walked away not wanting to dignify anything Bumper had to say with a response. As she headed down the hall, her pager went off and she quickly made her way to the ER.

            Upon her arrival in the ER, she spotted a man holding his stomach. “He needs an x-ray,” the nurse said. “He apparently swallowed a fork.”

            “He what?” Chloe looked at the man in disbelief. “You swallowed a fork?”

            “Magic trick gone wrong,” the man said.

            “Come on. Let’s get you onto a gurney.” Chloe looked back at the nurse. “Page Swanson and Conrad for me.”

           

 

            “Holy shit,” Stacie said as she entered the x-ray examination room. “Did he really swallow a fork?”

            Jesse shook his head. “What was his thought process with this one?”

            “Magic trick,” Chloe answered.

            Once the x-ray had been printed, Chloe took a closer look at it. “Damn.”

            Jesse looked over her shoulder to look at the x-ray and noticed the dark spots. “Internal bleeding. I saw Posen on our way here. I’ll go tell her.” Jesse took the x-ray and rushed out of the room.  

            Chloe and Stacie got the patient back onto a gurney and wheeled him out of the room. “Mr. Nelson, your x-ray shows that you’re bleeding internally.

            “Oh no,” the man said. “Am I going to die? I’m going to die, aren’t I? Please just get this fork out of me.”

            “We’re going to do that,” Chloe said. “Don’t worry.”

            They stopped at the elevator and Stacie hit the up button. They got onto it and as it made its way up, the lights flickered for a moment and a loud screeching sound was heard before the elevator stopped abruptly causing Stacie and Chloe to lose their footing. Chloe’s side slammed into the metal handle lining the elevator and Stacie caught the handle before she fell.

            “Everyone okay?” Chloe asked.

            “What the hell,” the patient said trying to sit up as he pulled the tubes from his under his nose.

            Stacie pushed him back down gently. “It’s fine. You need to stay lying down.” She hit several buttons on the elevator and it jolted a bit before opening slightly.

            Luke knelt down and looked at the interns from the small opening. “You have a patient in there with you? How’s he doing?”

            Chloe pressed her stethoscope to the man’s chest. “Doctors Evans, I can’t hear a systolic over fifty.”   

            Luke sighed. “Okay, we’re going to need to prep him for surgery. Intubate him.”

            “Wait. What?” Chloe asked.

            “You two are going to have to operate,” Luke said. “Do you have an open chest tray with you?”

            “Yes,” Stacie answered, “but can’t someone get the elevator moving?”

            “That’ll take time and he needs surgery now. I’ll be right back with masks, gowns and gloves.”

            “Did he just say that we’re operating in an elevator?” Stacie asked, in shock.

            Chloe took a deep breath and looked at Stacie. “Yeah, I guess that’s what we’re doing.”

 

            “Okay, he’s open,” Stacie said.

            “What do you see?” Aubrey asked. She was lying on the floor looking at the interns through the small gap in the elevator.  

            Chloe and Stacie looked for a few seconds before Chloe spotted the problem. “The fork pierced a vein in his chest.”

            “He’s bleeding around his lungs,” Stacie added.

            “Okay, you’re going to need to patch that vein,” Aubrey said.

            Chloe held the flashlight for Stacie while Aubrey walked her through the steps of patching the torn vein. After the vein was repaired, Stacie stitched the man’s chest back up.  

            “Now you have to take the fork out of his stomach before it causes anymore damage,” Aubrey instructed.

            Stacie took the light from Chloe and the redhead took the scalpel.

            Luke knelt down beside Aubrey. “Hey, they need you in OR three. Are you almost done here?”

            “Yeah, just finished,” Aubrey said. “You can talk them through getting that fork out of his stomach. Any news on the elevator?”

            “Work in progress,” Luke said.

            Aubrey got up and Luke took her place on the floor. “Okay, let’s do this.”

            “Gastrostromy,” Chloe said.

            “Correct, Doctor Beale,” Luke said, impressed. “Make the incision.”

            Chloe made the cut and after a few minutes she spoke. “I see it. It’s embedded in the right lobe of the liver.”

            “Any organs damaged?” Luke asked.

            “Everything looks okay.” Chloe went about removing the fork carefully. “Fork’s out.”

            Jesse rushed over to Luke and knelt down. “They can move the elevator.”

            “Not now,” Luke said. “They’re in the middle of a surgery. Beale just needs to close the gastrostomy wound and we’ll be done.”

            Once Chloe was done, her body relaxed and she let out a breath of relief.

            “You two did a good job. You should be proud of yourselves.”

            Chloe smiled. “Thank you, Doctor Evans.”

 

 

            Beca approached Chloe who was sitting on a gurney that was leaning against the wall. “Hey, heard you and Stacie did an elevator surgery. I would’ve totally been there to watch but I was in surgery.”

            “It’s okay,” Beca hoped onto the gurney to sit beside Chloe. “You’ve got bad ass hospital cred now.”

            Chloe chuckled and bumped her shoulder to Beca’s. “What does that get me?”

            “People will talk about how awesome you are for a few days and then you’ll go back to being just some intern.”

            “Oh, that’s something to look forward to,” Chloe joked.

            “Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee.” Beca got up from the gurney. Chloe hoped down as well but winced at the action.

            Beca frowned in concern. “You okay?”

            Chloe held her side. “Yeah, I just got hurt in that stupid elevator.”

            “Here, let me see.” Beca raised the top of Chloe’s scrub a bit and saw the angry bruise that had formed. “Ouch.” She ran her fingers over the bruise. “This just adds to that bad ass thing I was telling you about.”

            Chloe placed her hand on top of Beca’s and smiled at her. “You’re ridiculous.”

            Beca kept her hand there for a moment before pulling it away. “Do you want to hang out tonight? Aubrey’s staying with Luke tonight and I was thinking it’s been too long since you’ve made me sit through a lame movie.”

            Chloe playfully hit Beca on the shoulder. “The movies I pick are not lame.”

            “Are you in?” Beca asked.

            Chloe smiled brightly. “I’m in. I think I could use a comedy.”

            “Okay, but not stupid funny. I don’t like stupid funny,” Beca informed her.

            “Okay, not stupid funny. Noted,” Chloe said. “See you tonight.”

            “Yeah, tonight,” Beca said. “…so a fork, huh?”

            “Oh, look,” Chloe pulled her cell phone from her lab coat. “I took a picture of the x-ray.”

            “Well, holy shit,” Beca laughed and took the phone. “And here I thought I’d seen it all.”

            “What’s that?” Ethan Mitchell asked as he approached them.

            “A man swallowed a fork,” Beca said to her father as she handed him the phone. They had been getting along slightly better than before. It was still a work in progress.

            Ethan took the phone but his finger slid against the screen going to another picture. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the photo of Chloe Beale and his daughter. “Sorry, my finger hit something.” He handed the phone back to Beca.

            Beca was surprised to see a picture of her sleeping with Chloe beside her. _Well, shit._ Beca handed the phone back to Chloe who looked mortified to see the picture that had been pulled up.

            “A word, Doctor Mitchell,” Ethan said before walking down the hall.   


	21. Chapter 21

 

**Chapter Twenty-One**

            Beca was standing in a quiet corner with her father as the man lectured her about the appropriate behavior between an attending and an intern. She had already told the man that there was nothing going on but she guessed he wanted to hear himself speak.

            “Beca are you even listening?” Ethan asked.

            “No, because there is nothing going on,” Beca replied. “We’re friends. That’s allowed isn’t it?”

            “Yes, but I just want to make sure you understand that The Board is cracking down on these types of things,” Ethan said. “It’s not a written rule yet, but I know they’ve been thinking about it. There’s no point in besmirching your name because you can’t keep it in your pants, so to speak. Look, I’m not trying to be the bad guy here, Beca. I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want you to end up like Doctor Davis. And the same goes for Chloe. I’d hate to see her become another Bryant Miller.

            “I don’t play favorites with my interns,” Beca stated. “Not matter what kind of relationship I have with them. I take this job seriously.”

            Ethan held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, just make sure it stays that way.”

            Beca nodded and left to go change before heading outside where she found Chloe pacing while Jesse and Stacie sat on the hood of her car. She smirked as she approached the redhead. “So a secret picture of me on your phone, huh? That’s a little stalker-ish.”  

            Chloe stopped pacing and turned to face Beca. “I am so incredibly sorry. Did you get in trouble? I’ll totally take the blame for anything that happens. I’m-”

            Beca held up a hand to silence Chloe. “It’s fine. Nothing happened. Just a little scolding, but I let him know that we are just friends.”

            “See?” Stacie hoped down from the hood of the car. “I told you there was no need to freak out.”

            “I’m heading home now that this crisis has been averted,” Jesse said. “I’m exhausted. Night, Chloe. Have a good night, Doctor Mitchell.”

            “I’m going home and crashing,” Stacie said. “I’m a heavy sleeper so feel free to make all the noise you want.” She winked at the two.

            “Don’t do that,” Chloe whispered before pushing Stacie to her car.

            “Sorry,” Chloe said, sheepishly. “She thinks she’s funny.”

            “I’d say we could hang out at your place but Posen kind of terrifies me.”

            Beca chuckled. “She’d be glad to hear it.” Beca gestured to her car. “I’ll meet up with you at your place.”

            “Okay,” Chloe said. “See you in a bit.” She got into her car and headed home. She was looking forward to spending time with Beca.

 

 

            Chloe and Beca entered the apartment and went over to the couch to sit down. They were silent for a few seconds as the just enjoyed the peace and quiet of not being in a hospital.

            Chloe turned her head and looked at Beca. “Hungry?”

            Beca placed a hand on her stomach. “Yeah, the smell of pizza walking into your apartment building set my lateral hypothalamus off like crazy.”

            Chloe laughed at Beca’s response. “You’re not normal.”

            Beca frowned. “What?”

            “Your lateral hypothalamus?” Chloe repeated in amusement. “Just say you’re starving.”

            Beca scoffed. “And not put all these words I know to use?”

            Chloe giggled as she got up from the couch. “Okay, weirdo,” she said, teasingly. She made her way into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Seeing nothing appealing there, she checked the cabinets. “Okay, so your options are peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly.”

            Beca laughed. “The latter sounds good.” She got up from the couch and entered the kitchen. “Need help?”

            Chloe grinned. “It’s going to be tough but I think I’ll be able to manage.”

            Beca rolled her eyes with a hint of a smile. “That’s the last time I offer you help.”

            Chloe set two paper plates on the counter. “You can get two glasses and pop open the champagne in the fridge if you want to feel useful.”

            “Peanut butter sandwiches and champagne?” Beca asked with mock excitement. “Best night ever.”

            Chloe chuckled. “What can I say? We’re fancy around here.”

            By the time Beca got the glasses and poured the champagne, Chloe was just starting on making the second sandwich. Beca watched in amusement as the redhead took delicate care in spreading the peanut butter around every inch of the slice of bread.

            Chloe glanced up and saw the brunette staring at her. “What?”

            Beca shook her head. “Nothing.”

            Chloe finished making the sandwich and picked up the two plates before heading into the living room with Beca. She sat down and handed a plate to Beca before taking a bite of her sandwich.

            Beca took a bite of her own and let out a satisfied moan that made Chloe smirk. “Your peanut butter spreading process paid off. This is delicious.”

            Chloe playfully nudged Beca. “Are you making fun of me? I just like the peanut butter well proportioned.”

            “Hey, if taking an extra few seconds to spread peanut butter evenly on your sandwich makes you happy, then who am I to deny you of that privilege?”  

            Chloe smiled. “That’s actually really sweet of you to say.”

            Beca shrugged. “What can I say? I like seeing you happy. When you’re happy you smile and your smile is very beautiful.” Beca took another bite of her sandwich, leaving Chloe’s heart fluttering in her chest at her words. “And I mean that in the most platonic way possible.” Beca finished her sandwich in a few more bites and set the plate down on the coffee table. “My mom loved her peanut butter on toasted bread. I thought it was weird but she would always eat it like that.”

            “Tell me more about her,” Chloe said.            

            Beca picked up her glass of champagne and sipped it before relaxing back on the couch. She told Chloe all about her mother and two hours later, they were still talking.             “And I’ve mentioned how she loved to sing. Her favorite song was Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. She sang that song so beautifully.”

            “I love that song,” Chloe said. “Can you sing it for me?”

            Beca bit her bottom lip. “I haven’t listened to it since after she passed.”

            Chloe linked her fingers with Beca’s. She really thought singing it would be good for the woman. “We’ll sing it together.”

            Beca looked down at her and Chloe’s linked fingers. “Okay. You start.”

            Chloe took a deep breath and began to sing the song.

 

_I took my love and took it down_

_I climbed a mountain and I turned around_

_And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills_

_Till the landslide brought me down_

_Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?_

_Can the child within my heart rise above?_

_Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?_

_Can I handle the seasons of my life?_

 

            As Beca sat and listened to Chloe sing the words, she felt a wave of emotions hit her. Tears began to form in her eyes and she let them fall. As Chloe continued to sing, Beca joined her.

 

 

_Well, I've been afraid of changing_

_'Cause I've built my life around you_

_But time makes you bolder_

_Even children get older_

_And I'm getting older too_

            Chloe heard Beca’s voice waver as she sung and tightened her grip on the older woman’s hand as she stopped singing. “Hey, are you okay?”

            Beca nodded. “Yeah, sorry.” She wiped her tears away. “I just really miss her.” Chloe scooted closer to Beca and put an arm around her so that the brunette could rest her head on her shoulder. “I needed this, though,” Beca said. “To talk about her like this. I feel… better about the whole thing somehow. Thank you.”

            Chloe smiled. “Anytime, Beca. Do you still have nightmares?”

            “Sometimes,” Beca replied. “Not as often as I used to. I finally gave in to seeing a therapist. We talked about my childhood, my parents and me being a doctor. I did that for a month and it helped.”

            Chloe guessed that had been during the period that they weren’t talking. She was glad Beca had sought help with dealing with her pent up emotions. “I’m happy it helped.” They stayed how they were in silence for a few minutes before Chloe spoke again. “More champagne?”

            Beca grinned. “Yes, please.”

            Chloe got up and grabbed the two empty glasses before going back into the kitchen. She poured another glass of wine and went back into the living room.

            “Hey, we never did watch a movie,” Beca said as she took the glass Chloe handed her.

            “We still can.” Chloe set her glass down and went to her purse to pull out a DVD. “It’s a video on a cardiovascular surgery.”

            Beca quirked a brow. “A cardiovascular surgery? I was expecting a teen comedy.”

            Chloe put the video into the DVD player. “Sorry to disappoint,” she said jokingly.

            “Really. You don’t have to watch it just to please me or whatever.”

            “I want to.” Chloe grabbed the remote and a throw pillow before turning off the lights. She placed the pillow on Beca’s lap and laid down, resting her head on it. “If anything, it’ll help me fall asleep.”

            Beca laughed and rested her head on the back of the couch, giving only part of her attention to the television. A majority of it was on the redhead resting on her lap.

 

 

            Stacie exited her room, tiredly and made her way towards her bathroom down the hall but stopped when she spotted Beca and Chloe sleeping on the couch. Chloe’s head was resting on Beca’s lap while Beca’s head was resting on the back of the couch with her hand placed on Chloe’s waist. Smirking, Stacie went back into her room and grabbed her cell phone. She moved over to the living room and snapped a quick picture before poking Chloe in the cheek. “Hey,” she whispered.

            Chloe opened her eyes and it took her a moment to realize where she was. She sat up slowly and stretched. “Morning.”

            “Sleep well?” Stacie asked, mischievously. “You looked pretty comfortable.”

            “We’re just friends,” Chloe whispered as she stood up.

            “Pretty cozy for friends, but sure. I’ll go with that for now.” She showed Chloe the picture she had taken.

            “Stacie,” Chloe chided. “What have we learned about taking compromising pictures?”

            “Want me to send it to you?” Stacie asked, ignoring Chloe’s words.

            “Please,” Chloe said before looking back at Beca. “What am I going to do about my feelings, Stace?”

            “I thought you were just friends?”

            Chloe sighed. “We are, but it’s so freaking hard not to just grab her and kiss her.”  

            “Emotional opinion or logical opinion?” Stacie asked as she headed back to her room.

            “Both,” Chloe said as she followed Stacie to her room.  

            “Emotional opinion, you two are super cute together and I think you should say “fuck it” to everything and just be together.”

            “And logical opinion?” Chloe asked.

            “You can’t keep doing this back and forth thing,” Stacie said. “Stay friends, build a foundation and see what happens from there.”

            Chloe smiled. “And Jesse says you only think with your vagina.”

            Stacie’s mouth fell open in mock offense. “What an asshole!”

            Chloe laughed and sat down on Stacie’s bed. She let out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair. “I’m in love with her, Stace.”

            “I know,” Stacie said. “But right now you two make better friends than you do anything else.”

            “Since when are you the voice of reason?” Chloe joked.

            “I’ve done some growing up, I guess,” Stacie answered with a smile. “Now go wake her up before she’s late. I’m going to go take a shower.”

            Stacie left her room to go take a shower while Chloe headed back to the living room. “Hey, Becs.” Chloe placed her hand on Beca’s shoulder and shook her gently. “It’s time to get up.”

            Beca’s eyes fluttered open and she let out a groan. “What time is it?”

            “Seven,” Chloe replied. “You can shower here if you want.”

            Beca stood up and stretched. “No, it’s okay. I’ll head back to my place. Thanks for last night. I had fun.”

            “I’m glad we can hang out like this again. I missed it even more than I thought.”

            Beca smiled. “I did too.” She picked up her car keys from the coffee table. “I’ll see you at work.” She left the apartment and Chloe closed the door behind her before leaning against it. Just friends. She could manage that.  

 


	22. Chapter 22

 

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Several months later…

 

            “I don’t get it,” Callie said as she sat at a cafeteria table with Arizona, Aubrey, Luke and Amelia. “They spend all their time together, they don’t date. They’re basically in a relationship with each other minus the whole sex thing.”

            “Maybe they’re secretly dating,” Amelia offered.

            Aubrey shook her head. “Beca still gets mopey about Chloe since they’re not together.”

            “It’s not our business,” Luke said. “They’re choosing to be friends. Chloe wants to focus on her career-,”

            “No, she wants to focus on not pissing of the Chief of Staff,” Arizona corrected.

            “This is just ridiculous,” Callie sighed. “They need to do it. The sexual tension there is so intense that I get uncomfortable sometimes.”

            “Well nothing’s going to happen soon,” Aubrey said. “Chloe’s too focused on passing the intern exam.”

            Amelia chuckled. “Oh, the intern exam. I wonder who will snap first.”

           

 

 

            Chloe was sitting in an empty hospital room while Beca asked her questions off the flashcards that Aubrey had spent hours making.

            “You know you’re stressing too much over this, right?” Beca asked

            “Next card,” Chloe urged her.

            “How is pancreatic divisum treated?” Beca read from the card.

            Chloe opened her mouth to answer but she couldn’t think of the answer. “Shit! I’m totally going to fail this exam!”

            “No you’re not, Chloe,” Beca assured her. “You know this. You’ve _scrubbed_ in on this.”

            Chloe ran a hand through her hair. “I know I have. I just can’t think of the procedure.”

            “Dorsal duct sphincterotomy,” Beca answered. “Chloe you’ve spent the last month studying for this exam. Your brain needs a break.”

            “Says the woman who got a perfect score on her exam.” Chloe rubbed her hands over her face. “Next card.”

            “What’s inside the carotid sheath?” Beca asked.

            “The internal carotid artery, the vagnus nerve and…” Chloe closed her eyes as she tried to think of the answer. “There’s a third answer. I know there’s a third answer.”

            “It’s the-,”

            “No, don’t tell me!” Chloe continued to try to think of the answer but let out of huff of frustration when she couldn’t. “Okay, tell me.”

            “The internal jugular vein.” Beca answered.

            “I should’ve known that.” Chloe rubbed her temples. “I _do_ know that. I just drew another blank, which is what’s going to happen when I take this test. I’m not going to be a doctor. I’m going to fail.”

            Beca stood up, pushing the notecards into her pocket before moving behind Chloe. She placed her hands on the redhead’s shoulders and squeezed gently. “Relax, Chlo. You’re going to do fine. You need to stop stressing yourself out.”

            “You’ll help me study tonight, right?” Chloe asked. “I can’t fail this test, Beca.”

            Beca began to massage Chloe’s shoulders. “I think you’re studying too much.”

            “Just two hours,” Chloe begged. “I need to make sure I know this stuff.”

            “You do know it,” Beca assured her. “You’re just freaking yourself out. How are Jesse and Stacie doing with their studying?”

            “They’re stressed too. They do most of their studying in our group sessions with you.” Chloe sighed and closed her eyes as she let herself lose herself in the massage Beca was giving her.

            Beca smiled as the tension left Chloe’s body. She massaged her shoulders and neck for a few minutes before pulling away and sitting back on the chair in front of her. “You’re going to ace the exam. You’re a solid doctor, Beale. I wouldn’t lie to you. If I thought you’d make a crappy doctor, I would’ve let you know it several times by now.”

            Chloe laughed lightly. “Gee, thanks.”

            “Stop freaking yourself out,” Beca continued. “You’re going to make yourself think you actually don’t know it and then you’ll end up back at the beginning. Take a break until tonight, we’ll go over some stuff for an hour and then you’ll go to bed.”

            “An hour?” Chloe said as if that was the worst thing Beca could’ve said to her.

            “Yes, an hour,” Beca repeated. “And I’m keeping the index cards for now.” Chloe opened her mouth to protest but Beca spoke first. “You’ll thank me later. Get out of here. You and the others have rounds with Amy. You don’t want to be late. And don’t forget to deliver my labs.”

            Chloe sighed as she stood up. “I hate delivering labs,” she muttered.

            “Was that whining, Beale?” Beca smirked.

            Chloe smiled. “No, Doctor Mitchell.” Chloe opened the room door. “I’ll see you later.”

            “Don’t stress,” Beca said before walking in the opposite direction.

           

           

            “The four incisions placed for an appendectomy?” Jesse asked later that day as he, Stacie and Chloe walked down the hall.

            “Uh, Lanz incision,” Stacie began. “Rutherford Morrison, McBurney’s incision and… para-median incision.”

            Jesse held up his hand to high-five Stacie. “And for bonus points, the alternate name for McBurney’s incision?”

            “Shit,” Stacie sighed.

            “Grid iron incision,” Chloe answered.

            “That is correct. Next question.” Jesse looked at his friends. “Show of hands, does anyone else feel horribly threatened by this test?”

            Chloe and Stacie both raised their hand at once.

            “Do you two want to study with me tonight?” Chloe asked. “Beca’s going to come over.”

            “I’m getting as much sleep as I can,” Stacie said. “And you should do the same.”

            Chloe shook her head. “I’m studying.”

            “I’ll spend the night at Jesse’s so you can study,” Stacie said. “You kept yelling obscenities last night when you couldn’t remember something.”

            “Sorry,” Chloe said, sheepishly. “This test has me on edge.”

            “Swanson.” Beca approached the interns. “I have a complete partial nephrectomy in a few minutes. Want to scrub in?”

            Jesse’s eyes lit up at the offer. “Yes, Doctor Mitchell. I would love to scrub in.”

            Bumper had been standing nearby and frowned at hearing this. “Is that patient, Kenneth Edwards?”

            “It is, actually,” Beca replied. “Why do you ask?”

            “Doctor McGregor said I could scrub in on that,” Bumper stated.           

            “Doctor McGregor gave the surgery to me,” Beca replied. “He didn’t say anything about you. Swanson is scrubbing in.” Bumper walked away muttering something under his breath as he did so.

            “I don’t think I’ve ever disliked someone so much,” Stacie said.

            “I second that,” Chloe said.

            “Don’t worry about him,” Beca said. “Beale and Conrad to the pit.” Beca pulled the notecards out of her pocket that she had taken from Chloe earlier that day. “You can have these back.”

            Chloe happily took the notecards. “Thank you.”

            “Just try not to fry your brain,” Beca said before walking away with Jesse in tow.

           

 

           

            “One more time,” Chloe said after Beca read her the last index card. They were back at Chloe’s apartment studying and eating pizza.

            “No more,” Beca said. “Your study sessions are officially over. You’re going to take that test tomorrow and pass.”

            “But what if I don’t?” Chloe asked, worriedly.

            “You will. You know your stuff, Chlo. Here, I have something for you.” Beca went over to her bag that she had dropped on the couch across from them upon entering Chloe’s apartment. She dug through it, pulling out a usb stick before going back over to sit beside Chloe. “Here.”

            “What’s this?” Chloe asked as she took the object.

            “Since that day we sung Landslide together, I’ve been really back into the whole music thing. I got this software that lets me mix songs on my computer. I’ve been doing it for a few months now. It started off really bad but after a lot of practice, I actually don’t suck so hard at it.” Beca picked up Chloe’s laptop from the coffee table. “Work obviously keeps me busy so I only had time to mix two songs for you that I thought were actually decent.”

            Chloe beamed at Beca. “You mixed music for me?”

            Beca shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I just thought you’d appreciate it. I want an honest opinion, okay?”  

            “Okay.” Chloe took the laptop from Beca and pushed the usb stick into it. She couldn’t stop smiling. Beca had been mixing songs and she had been mixing them for her. She double clicked on the file marked Titanium Mix and bit her bottom lip as if it would contain her excitement as she waited for the music to begin.

            Beca watched the redhead in amusement. She could see how excited she was over this small gesture. She loved being the reason Chloe smiled. It made her feel amazing.

            Chloe closed her eyes and began to bob her head to the music. Beca began to fidget with the hem of her shirt as she waited anxiously to hear Chloe’s opinion. Once the end of the song came, Chloe opened her eyes and looked at the nervous brunette. “Beca that was amazing!”

            Beca smiled. “Really?”

            Chloe nodded. “Really. That was fantastic. You have great musicality, Beca. That mix flowed perfectly.” Chloe clicked open the next file and listened as it played, closing her eyes again. “You should make this a thing,” Chloe said as she opened her eyes to look at Beca. “You’re great with music.”

            Beca laughed. “I’m not going to abandon medicine to go deejay at clubs or anything.”

            Chloe laughed as well as she set her laptop down on the coffee table. “Oh, your father would love that.”

            “He’d have an aneurysm,” Beca said. “This has been a nice hobby to have. It’s… satisfying. I’ll keep making mixes for you to listen to if you want.”

            Chloe beamed at this. “I’ll be your own little fangirl!”

            Beca chuckled. “I’d be okay with that.” She stood up and gestured to the kitchen. “I’m thirsty. Want anything?”

            Chloe shook her head. “I’m okay.”

            Beca went into Chloe’s kitchen to get herself a bottle of water and Chloe picked up the flashcards from the table. When Beca returned to Chloe studying, she rolled her eyes. “Stop studying.” She pulled the cards from Chloe’s hands and set her water bottle down on the coffee table. “There is such a thing as over studying, you know.”            

            “Just one more hour.” Chloe reached for the cards but Beca held them out of her reach. Beca shook her head. “I can get them from you,” Chloe warned.

            “You can try, but I’m fairly certain you won’t get them,” Beca challenged.

            Chloe launched herself up from the couch and grabbed for Beca but the brunette moved out of her way and ran behind the couch. Chloe went after her and Beca climbed over the couch and tried to run to Chloe’s room but the redhead tackled her and they hit the floor.

            Beca moved to get up but Chloe quickly straddled her. Chloe went to grab the index cards but realized the brunette didn’t have them. “Where are they?”

            Beca smiled, triumphantly. “I ditched them.”

            Chloe playfully glared at the woman. “Ditched them where?”

            “I’m going to need my lawyer,” Beca joked.

            Chloe’s eyes trailed down to where Beca’s shirt had risen and exposed her stomach.

            “Are you going to get off of me?” Beca asked, amused.

            Chloe placed her hand on Beca’s exposed skin and flattened her hand on her stomach. “You have nice abs,” she said, absentmindedly.

            Beca’s heart had begun to race in her chest due to their current intimate position. “Thanks.” She bit her lower lip as she felt Chloe’s hand move further up her stomach. “Chloe,” she whispered out.

            “Hm?” Chloe dragged her nails gently down Beca’s toned stomach until her hand was out from under her shirt.

            “What are you doing?” Beca’s brain was beginning to short-circuit and she needed to get a hold of herself.

            Chloe sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m not entirely sure. I just…” Chloe let out another sigh. “You make my heart freak out too.”

            Beca was stunned to hear the words she had said to Chloe being said to her.

            Chloe got up, helping Beca up as well. “Part of it is just me being afraid of this,” she gestured between them, “and the other part of it is just me being ridiculously happy when I’m around you.”

            “What are you saying?” Beca asked, almost inaudibly.

            “I’m saying that I want you, Beca. I’ve been trying so hard not to but we’re more than friends. We’ve always been more than friends and I can’t keep pretending otherwise. I know it’s probably been too long and your feelings have probably changed but I needed to say that.”

            Beca took a step towards Chloe and cupped the side of her face. “My feelings haven’t changed,” she said before connecting their lips. The kiss started off slow but quickly intensified.

            “Bedroom,” Chloe said between kisses.

            The two continued to kiss as they made their way to the bedroom. Chloe brought her hands down to Beca’s belt and began to undo it. After several more kisses, they pulled apart to undress.

            Beca pushed Chloe onto the bed and climbed on top of her, trailing kisses along her neck and chest once there. “God, I’ve wanted this for so long,” Beca breathed out.

            “Me too,” Chloe said before pulling Beca back in for a kiss. “I want to feel you against me, Beca,” she moaned out as she spread her legs further apart.

            Beca settled between Chloe’s legs and aligned their clits before beginning to rock against her. They moaned out at the feeling the position brought on. Chloe pushed her hips up as Beca pushed hers down and the two found a perfect rhythm together.

            “Fuck, I’m close,” Chloe gasped out. “I should be embarrassed that I’m this close already.”       

            Beca chuckled and kissed the redhead hard on her lips. “I can stop.”

            “Don’t you dare,” Chloe groaned.

            Beca stopped her actions despite Chloe’s words and began to kiss her down her chest.

            “You stopped,” Chloe whined.

            Beca grinned as she looked up at Chloe. “I decided I didn’t want you to come yet.”

            “But I really want to.” Chloe bucked her hips up to gain pressure where she really wanted it but Beca moved so she wouldn’t gain contact.   

            She moved back up and kissed Chloe. “Patience.” She kissed back down Chloe’s stomach and nipped at her skin.

            Chloe placed her hand on Beca’s shoulder and pushed down. “Your mouth, please.”

            Beca settled down between Chloe’s legs and blew lightly on her clit causing Chloe’s hips to buck. She flicked Chloe’s clit with her tongue a few times never applying enough pressure.

            Chloe let out a frustrated groan. “I hope you know I’m going to tease the hell out of you when it’s your turn.”

            Beca laughed and pushed two fingers into Chloe causing the redhead to moan out her name. “Sorry, I want this to last. Savoring the moment and all.”

            “Come here,” Chloe breathed out, missing Beca’s fingers once they slipped out of her.

            Beca moved back up her body and quirked an eyebrow. “Yes?”

            Chloe brought a hand up to brush a strand of hair from Beca’s face. “This isn’t a one-time thing. I love you. I want to be with you.” Beca smiled and bent down to kiss Chloe passionately. They were finally on the right track and she had never been happier.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Chloe woke up and instantly smiled as the night before came back to her. She and Beca had spent hours making up for lost time. She rolled over to check the time and saw that it was six. She turned back around and her eyes widened at the scratches all over Beca’s back. “Damn,” she whispered as she reached out to touch the marks she had left.

            “That bad?” Beca asked, amusement in her voice.

            Chloe leaned forward and placed several kisses on the cuts on Beca’s shoulder. “It looks like a tiger got to you.”

            Beca chuckled. “That accurately describes what it feels like.”

            Chloe made an apologetic face and kissed Beca along her back. “Sorry.”

            Beca turned so that she was facing Chloe. “I’m not complaining. Last night was… epic.”

            Chloe grinned. “Understatement.” She leaned forward and kissed Beca. “We should talk about what we’re doing. Are we telling people? Do you want to keep it a secret?”

            “I definitely don’t want to keep you a secret,” Beca smiled. She linked their fingers together and kissed Chloe. “We should tell our friends. We’ll have to be secretive but they should at least know. Are you comfortable with telling people?”

            “I am. They’re going to be happy for us.” Chloe kissed Beca again. “I have to take a shower,” she said against her lips.

            “I should get going,” Beca said. “You have a long day ahead of you.”

            Chloe moved her lips to Beca’s neck and placed several kisses along it. “That was an invitation.”

            Beca laughed and ran her hand up and down Chloe’s side. “One that I would love to accept but you have the intern exam. I’m going to make you breakfast and then head home.”

            “You don’t have to make me breakfast,” Chloe said.

            “I want to.” Beca reluctantly pulled away from Chloe and got out of bed.

            Chloe’s eyes trailed down Beca’s body and she let out a moan letting her know she liked what she was seeing.

            “Pervert,” Beca joked as she pulled on her clothes. She bent down to kiss Chloe on the lips before leaving the room.

            Chloe let out a content sigh and smiled as she laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Happy didn’t even begin to describe how she was feeling right now. Beca was finally her girlfriend. After all their ups and downs, they had finally gotten to this point. Smile still plastered on her face, Chloe got out of bed and made her way into the bathroom.

 

 

            Beca had just finished making herself and Chloe breakfast when the front door opened and Stacie walked in. Stacie froze and stared at Beca for a moment before breaking out into a smile. “You spent the night?”

            Beca nodded. “I did.”

            “You and Chloe totally did it, didn’t you?” Stacie grinned. “Don’t bother lying. You have a massive hickey on your chest.”

            Beca buttoned her plaid shirt up further. “I’m sure Chloe would’ve preferred you found out from her, but… yes, we slept together. We’re giving us a chance.”

            Stacie squealed and rushed over to sit at the counter. “It’s about damn time. Do you two know how crazy you’ve been driving us? Callie and Arizona were planning to lock you in a supply closet until you confessed your feelings for each other. I’m happy you two have stopped being stupid.”  

            “I am too. I didn’t think I’d ever get another chance,” Beca said as she pushed her plate over to Stacie. “You should eat something.”

            “No, it’s okay. I’ll get something from the cafeteria when I get to the hospital.”

            “Eat,” Beca insisted. “I’m not the one who has an exam to take.” She went to the cabinets and retrieved to glasses.

            “Thanks.” Stacie picked up the fork and began to eat.

            “No problem.” Beca poured orange juice into the two glasses and set one in front of Stacie and the other by Chloe’s plate.

            Chloe exited her room and smiled when she saw that Beca hadn’t left yet. “Hey, Stacie.”

            Stacie turned to look at Chloe. “I heard the good news. I guess it’s safe to say that you didn’t get a lot of studying done last night.”

            Chloe beamed. “Nope, but I feel a lot more relaxed about the whole thing.” She moved over to Beca and kissed her on the cheek.

            Stacie laughed. “I’m sure you do.”

            Beca shook her head in amusement. “I’m out of here. Good luck on the exam, you two.”

            “I’ll walk you out.” Chloe followed Beca out of the apartment and once the door was closed, she kissed the woman passionately.

            “Mm, what was that for?” Beca asked once their lips parted.

            “Because I like kissing you. And it’s a thank you for helping us study and dealing with my insanity. Oh, and breakfast. Thank you for breakfast.”

            “You were kind of cute all freaked out the way you were.” Beca winked at her. “I’ll see you after your exam.” Beca gave Chloe a final kiss before heading down the stairs.

            Chloe smiled happily as she headed back into her apartment. She sat down at the counter next to Stacie. “I’m so fucking happy, Stace.”

            Stacie smiled. “I’m glad you’re so fucking happy, Chlo.” Stacie nudged Chloe’s shoulder with her own. “Really. I’m happy for you. You two are going to be sickeningly adorable together.”

            “Thank you for being so supportive,” Chloe said. “I know I’ve probably been super annoying with this crush.”

            “You’ve been fine. Now let’s eat and then quiz each other as we get ready.”

            “Sounds like a plan,” Chloe said before giving her attention back to her breakfast.

           

 

 

            “ _Together_ together, right?” Aubrey asked as she walked down the hallway with Beca and Luke.

            Beca laughed at Aubrey’s wording. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend. It’s official.”

            Luke patted Beca on the back. “Congratulations, Beca. It’s about time.”

            “That’s great news and I’m happy for you, but I hope you didn’t keep her up all night,” Aubrey stated.

            “Of course not,” Beca assured her. “She went to bed at a decent hour.”

            “Just making sure,” Aubrey said. “So are you two keeping it quiet?”

            Beca nodded. We are. We’re only letting friends know. I can’t let my dad find out, he’ll flip. He’s already warned me about having an “inappropriate” relationship with an intern.

            “Technically it’s not against any rules so even if he does find out, he can only scold you,” Luke assured her.

            “Yeah, I know,” Beca said. “I just don’t want to deal with him lecturing me, you know?”

            “I thought you two were doing better,” Aubrey said.

            “We’re definitely better than we were a few months ago,” Beca said. “Our relationship still needs a lot of work, though.” Beca gestured to the elevator. “I have to go check on a patient. I’ll see you two later.”

            “Yeah, later,” Aubrey said. “Oh, and try to keep that goofy “I finally got the girl” grin off your face. It makes you a lot less threatening.”

            Beca only grinned as she disappeared onto the elevator. Her “goofy grin” was probably going to be plastered on her face for a month. She still couldn’t believe that Chloe was her girlfriend now. It was all new to her and she couldn’t wait to experience being in a relationship with Chloe.

 

 

 

            Chloe exited the exam room with the others and let out a sigh. She wasn’t sure she had done well and it was making her very nervous.

            “Okay, that was mediocre,” Stacie said. “I think I did well but I’m not sure. I think I might start hyperventilating.”

            Jesse placed a hand on her back. “Hey, I’m sure you did fine. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I blanked on a question for like five minutes and it threw me all off after that. _I_ probably failed.” He looked over at Chloe. ”How about you?”

            “I thought it was easy,” Chloe answered, “which probably means that I failed horribly.” The redhead let out another breath. “I’m going to have to redo my internship… ohmygod, or find a new career.”

            Jesse stepped in front of Chloe and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Hey, you did not fail either. You’re going to become a resident and kick ass as one, alright?”

            Chloe nodded. “Alright.” She smiled and gave Jesse a hug. “Same goes for you. You probably aced that exam.”

            “Let’s not worry about it,” Stacie said. “We’ll find out in a few days what our scores were. Let’s just get back to work.”

            “Stacie’s right,” Chloe said. “Let’s just focus on work. No reason to freak out now. Let’s go find Amy. She’ll have something for us to do.”

           

 

            Beca stopped at the nurses’ station where Chloe was looking over some papers. She leaned against the counter and raised her eyebrows at the redhead. “So… how’d it go?”

            Chloe scribbled something down on the form and looked at Beca. “It went.”

            “That doesn’t sound promising.” Beca tilted her head slightly to the side. “Should I get some circus brochures for you? You might find one you’d like to join if this whole doctor thing doesn’t pan out for you.”

            Chloe playfully punched Beca in the shoulder. “I was thinking bartender.”

            “Like a Coyote Ugly thing? I’d be down with that,” The attending grinned. “It’s too bad that you won’t need to look into any of those things because I’m sure you didn’t fail your intern exam.”

            Chloe smiled. “We’ll find that out in a few days.”

            Beca continued to look at Chloe with a smile on her face.

            “What?” Chloe asked.

            Beca shook her head with a smile on her face. “Nothing.”

            “No, what are you thinking?” Chloe asked.

            “Do you think you’ll continue the program here or are you looking at other hospitals?” Beca asked, curiously.

            “Why would I want to go anywhere else? I’m sticking to trauma and I want to be taught by you so Barden Hospital is where I’m staying.” Chloe took in Beca’s look of relief. “Were you worried?”

            “What? No. Just curious. Of course you’d want to learn from me. I’m super awesome.”

            Chloe laughed. “Oh yeah, super awesome.”

            Beca winked at the woman. “I have to get going. Don’t stress about the test results.” Beca walked away and Chloe went back to her forms, smiling as she read over them.

 

 

A few days later…

 

            Chloe sighed angrily. “How come we haven’t gotten our results yet?” She asked Beca as they sat in an on-call room.

            “It takes time,” Beca said, apologetically. “It’ll be before the end of the week.” She leaned over and kissed Chloe on the cheek. “I have a meeting with my dad to get to but I’ll see you later.”

            “A meeting?” Chloe made an “uh oh” face. “Anything bad?”

            “Probably,” Beca said, nonchalantly. “I’m sure I’ve done something that he needs to lecture me about.” Beca stood up from the bed. “Thirty seconds.” She kissed Chloe on the forehead and left the room.

            Chloe smiled to herself and waited thirty seconds before leaving the on-call room as well.

 

 

            Beca entered her father’s office and moved to sit down across from him. “You wanted to see me.”

            “I did,” Ethan scratched his head. “Um, I’m going to be talking about this with the hospital as a whole, but I wanted to talk to you about it personally first.”

            Beca could tell this wasn’t going to be a good conversation. “This has bad written all over it. Just say it.”

            Ethan sighed. “Someone has complained to the Board about special treatment going on in the hospital.”

            Beca rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. “Special treatment? And who filed that complaint? Bumper Allen?”

            “I can’t say,” Ethan said. “But this was a few days ago and the Board has already come up with this form.” He set a piece of paper in front of Beca. “This needs to be signed by Monday.”

            Beca read over the form and felt herself becoming hot with anger. “Seriously?”

            “It will keep things in order,” Ethan said before his daughter could argue. “You can only date someone of your same rank. Attendings date attendings, residents date residents and interns date other interns. It’s simple. It shouldn’t be an issue for you, right?”

            “Do you know how many couples this will break apart?” Beca asked, ignoring his question.

            Ethan leaned forward a bit. “Beca, I don’t have control over this. The Board has decided to pass it and I have to make sure everyone abides by it, okay?” He gestured to the form. “If that doesn’t get signed by Monday, then you get suspended. If you still don’t sign it after that, then you get transferred or fired. You’re not dating an intern or a resident are you? This shouldn’t be a problem for you.” Ethan set a pen down on the form just as Beca’s pager went off.

            “I have to go.” Beca stood up, leaving the form where it was as she rushed out of the office.  


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

“Beca,” Chloe began as her girlfriend paced the living room. She had just arrived at Beca’s place to talk about the “love contract” but hadn’t been able to say much. She got up from the couch and stepped into Beca’s path, stopping her girlfriend from her frantic pacing. “Beca.” She wrapped her arms around Beca’s neck and placed a kiss on her lips. “Here’s the scenario I’m going with. Bumper’s got a stick up his ass because you gave Jesse a surgery that he wanted. He filed a complaint with human resources or whatever to get back at you and now the Board is passing this new regulation in order to protect themselves from liability. I don’t think anyone will care that we’re together as long as it doesn’t affect work. We’re going to be keeping it a secret anyway so it doesn’t even matter.”

            Beca looked at Chloe with confusion. “I thought you’d be more pissed off about this.”

            “Oh trust me, this wasn’t the highlight of my day. I just want to be happy, though. These last few days since getting together have been great. Finally being together after everything is so nice, Beca and I’m not letting a piece of paper ruin it. We’ll be fine.”

            Beca placed a gentle kiss on Chloe’s lips. “That optimism is cute, but I’m not exactly sure your scenario is realistic.”

            Chloe sat back down on the couch, pulling Beca down with her. “Okay, let’s hear your scenario that’s probably filled with heartbreak and tears.” She moved to the other end of the couch and rested her legs on Beca’s thighs as she relaxed.

            Beca placed her hands on Chloe’s foot and began to massage it. “Okay, so we sign this stupid contract and we still date secretly. All’s going great but then I slip up and kiss you briefly in greeting or something. Someone sees and that someone is an asshole who doesn’t want to see anyone happy ever AKA Bumper Allen. He goes and makes a big fuss and we get suspended. We are then given the choices of transferring, quitting or getting fired.”

            “Or breaking up,” Chloe added, nonchalantly. Beca paused the massaging of Chloe’s feet in order to look at her in disbelief. “What?” Chloe asked. “It’s a choice.”

            Beca sighed. “I don’t know how I feel about you not caring about this.”

            Chloe moved so that she was straddling Beca’s thighs. “Hey.” She cupped Beca’s chin between her fingers and stared into her eyes. “I care about this. I care about us. We’ve had so many obstacles in our way and we’ve finally overcome them. I’m not letting a piece of paper ruin this for me.” She kissed Beca and what was meant to be a chaste kiss, turned into something more.

            Beca slid her hands up the back of Chloe’s shirt and caressed her back. She was about to unsnap the redhead’s bra when the front door opened. She quickly retracted her hands and Chloe moved off her lap to sit beside her.

            “This is not what I was expecting to walk into,” Aubrey said as she set her things down. “I was expecting a fight about the contract.”

            “We were talking about it.” Beca gestured towards Chloe. “She’s not worried.”

            “Well, I don’t think they’ll continue with it,” Aubrey said as she moved into the kitchen to get herself something to drink. “I don’t plan on signing it and neither does Luke. Amelia lost her copy of the contract in the trash, Arizona let a kid use hers to make a paper airplane and Callie got water all over hers. Totally un-signable now.”

            Beca smiled at her friend. “You guys are absolutely amazing but you can’t risk getting in trouble.”

            “I’m not worried,” Aubrey said. “But on to more exciting things,” She looked at Chloe. “How’d you do on your intern exam?”

            Beca frowned as she looked over at Chloe. “The results came in? How come I didn’t know about this?”

            “I asked Jesse and Stacie to keep it quiet,” Chloe said. “They passed. I haven’t checked my score yet and I didn’t want everyone asking me how I did.”

            “And that is my cue,” Aubrey said. “I’m sure you did fine, Beale.” She headed to her room and closed the door to give them their privacy.

            “Where is it?” Beca asked.

            Chloe sighed and got up from the couch to pull the envelope from her purse. She made her way back over to Beca and plopped down beside her. Beca leaned over and placed a kiss on Chloe’s temple.

            Chloe closer her eyes and leaned into Beca. “What if-,”

            “Hey, none of that,” Beca said, gently. “Open it.”

            Chloe slowly ripped open the envelope and pulled out the paper with the test results on it. She bit her lower lip as she unfolded the paper. Beca watched on as Chloe read the paper and became worried when the redhead closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath.

            Beca took the paper from her and read it herself, smiling when she saw the test score. “You passed! I told you that you would. You even got an amazing score.”

            Chloe opened her eyes and pulled Beca to her for a kiss. “Bedroom?”

            “We have to stay quiet,” Beca said as she stood up. “Aubrey will kill us otherwise.”

            “I can be quiet,” Chloe assured her. Beca laughed at that, earning herself a glare from Chloe. “What’s funny?”

            “It’s just that you and quiet aren’t exactly two words I’d put together,” Beca joked.

            Chloe entered Beca’s room and closed the door. “If anything can keep me quiet, it’s the fear of dealing with Aubrey in the morning.”

            “I guess we’ll find out,” she said before connecting her lips with Chloe’s.

 

 

 

            Aubrey was just exiting her room when the front door opened and Chloe stepped in holding a cup tray with three cups of coffee in it. “Morning,” she greeted her.

            Chloe closed and locked the apartment door before looking at the blonde. “Doctor Posen, good morning. I bought you coffee.”

            Aubrey smiled. “Thank you. Have a seat. Let’s talk. We haven’t done much of that since you and Beca started dating…officially.”

            Chloe knew this talk was probably going to involve a lot of threats. She placed the tray on the counter along with Beca’s keys that she had borrowed and pulled out two coffees before following Aubrey into the living room. She handed the blonde her coffee and sat down on the opposite couch.

            “Thank you,” Aubrey said before sipping the hot liquid. “So,” she began, “this contract thing must be hard for you and Beca. What are you two going to do?”

            “I’m not exactly sure. I think we should just sign it and Beca disagrees,” Chloe explained. “I don’t think it’d be a good idea to upset the Chief of Staff or the Board.”

            Aubrey stared at Chloe for a few seconds before speaking. “Are you bailing?”

            Chloe was taken aback by the question. “Excuse me?”

            “Is this stupid contract going to cause you to hurt my best friend,” Aubrey clarified. “Look, I like you, but if you plan on breaking Beca’s heart, I need to know now.”

            Chloe shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere. I love Beca. I want us to work. Nothing’s going to change that.”

            Aubrey once again sipped her coffee. “Good to know,” she said as she stood up. “And you can call me Aubrey,” she added before disappearing back into her room.

            Chloe let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She grabbed Beca’s coffee and headed back into the bedroom. Upon entering the bedroom, she smiled as she heard Beca humming in the bathroom. She had taken a shower earlier before leaving for the coffee.

            “I like you in my clothes,” Beca said as she walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

            Chloe held out a cup of coffee for Beca. “That’s good because I like being in them.”

            Beca kissed Chloe. “Thank you for the coffee. You didn’t have to go out and get anything.”

            “I wanted to,” Chloe said. “I was craving a vanilla latte.” She took Beca’s cup back, which earned her a protest, but she ignored it as she set her and Beca’s cup on the dresser.

            “What are you doing?” Beca asked.

            “I’m craving something else now.” Chloe tugged at the towel around Beca causing the material to drop from her body and pool around her feet. “Fuck, you are so beautiful, Beca.”

            Beca grinned. “We can’t.”

            Chloe pulled her eyes away from Beca’s body to make eye contact. “We definitely can.” She pushed Beca against the wall and got down on her knees. “I just really want to hear you come undone. It won’t take long.” 

            “It won’t take long? Is that a dig at my stamina because- fuck.” Beca dropped the back of her head against the wall as Chloe’s tongue pressed into her. She raised her leg, placing it over her girlfriend’s shoulder to give her better access. “Maybe we have a little time.”

 

 

            Beca had barely finished getting changed into scrubs when her pager began to go off. She picked it up and rolled her eyes when she saw that it was her father who wanted to speak to her.

            “What is it?” Luke asked.

            “My father.” Beca closed her locker. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

            “Try not to get yourself suspended,” Aubrey said, seriously. “Just take deep breaths and count to ten.”

            “Yeah, we’ll see.” Beca exited the locker room and headed up to her father’s office. She knocked on the door and opened it.

            “Beca,” Ethan greeted her. He placed the form on the empty part of his desk along with a pen. “You need to sign this and then you need to tell your fellow doctors to sign theirs as well. I’m just trying to look out for you, Beca.”

            Beca didn’t know what came over her but before she had thought about what she should say, she was blurting out words. “This is stupid. I let Swanson scrub in with me over Bumper Allen and now he’s throwing a fit. That’s what this whole thing stemmed from, a temper tantrum.”

             “Beca,” Ethan said, trying to calm her down.

            “I love her,” Beca said. “I am in love with Chloe Beale and I can attest to it being one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. I won’t give her up.”

            “So you’d rather ruin her career?” Ethan asked. “Because that’s exactly what you’re going to do. Do you think the Board will choose her over you? That’s not how this is going to happen. You’re one of our best doctors. They’ll keep you and get rid of her.”

            “I know,” Beca replied. “I’m not an idiot.”

            “Then are you going to sign this?” Ethan asked. “Because if you love her like you say, then you’ll do what’s best for her.”

            Beca walked over to the desk and signed the form before tossing the pen back down. “There.”

            Ethan took the contract expecting to see ‘fuck you’ or something along those lines written down. “Thank you, Doctor Mitchell. You’re doing the right thing.”

            Beca pulled a piece of paper from her lab coat and handed it to the man.

            “What’s this?” Ethan asked as he took it from her.

            “I’m requesting a transfer,” Beca said, simply.

            Ethan looked over the form in disbelief. “Clearview Medical Center? Their trauma center isn’t anything like Barden’s. You won’t be happy there.”

            “And I won’t be happy here either,” Beca shot back. “I have work to do.” Beca turned to leave.

            “Beca this is ridiculous,” Ethan said.

            Beca turned back around. “No, ridiculous is telling me who I can love. I’ve never favored Chloe or any intern. I’m damn good at my job and I don’t let my personal life affect how I do it. I’m transferring and that’s that. I won’t be forced to end my relationship because of some vendetta that Allen has against me and Chloe.” Beca exited the office and let out a breath. Chloe was going to be so pissed at her.

             


	25. Chapter 25

            **Chapter Twenty-Five**

            Beca was sitting in the cafeteria with Aubrey trying to figure out how she would tell the woman that she had put in for a transfer. She knew the blonde would flip and didn’t want to cause a scene.

            “You’re thinking hard,” Aubrey finally spoke. “It’s distracting. What’s going on?”

            Beca sighed. “Um, what do you think on Clearview Medical Center?”

            Aubrey sipped from her bottle of water before answering. “Well, if I had a choice between giving myself stitches or going to CMC, I’d do my own.”

            Beca rolled her eyes. “It’s not a bad hospital.”

            “Okay, maybe that was a little overdramatic, but really, it’s lame over there, Beca,” Aubrey stated. “Everything is by the book. They don’t take chances, they’re not innovative and they’re dull. Why are you asking about that place?”

            Beca bit her bottom lip as she poked at her food. “I requested a transfer,” she said without looking up from her tray.

            Aubrey laughed lightly. “Seriously, why are you asking?”

            “That is why I’m asking,” Beca said. “I’m going to CMC.”

            “No the hell you’re not,” Aubrey said in disbelief. “Why would you ask for a transfer? I thought you loved it here? And why wouldn’t you talk to me about it first? What the hell, Beca?”

            “Whoa, breathe. Calm down.” Beca looked around to make sure no one was listening in. “I just can’t work here with that stupid regulation on who I can date.”

            “Then pretend to break-up and date her secretly,” Aubrey suggested. “Transferring? That’s ridiculous. Their trauma center is shit, Beca. You might as well quit being a doctor.”

            “I need you to be supportive here, Aubrey,” Beca sighed. “This isn’t easy for me.”

            Aubrey ran a hand through her hair. “Sorry. This just sucks.”

            “What sucks?” Chloe sat down at the table and looked from Aubrey to Beca.

            Beca pointed at the redhead. “You are supposed to be running test on Mrs. Keager.”

            “And I ran those test, Doctor Mitchell, Chloe informed her. “I’m just waiting for the test results and thought I’d kill time in the cafeteria.”

            “You could be killing time in the pit, Beale,” Beca said.

            Chloe narrowed her eyes at Beca. “Why don’t you want me here?”

            “I didn’t say that,” Beca insisted.         

            Chloe looked at Aubrey. “Why doesn’t she want me here?”

            Beca shook her head at the blonde, telling her not to tell Chloe what was going on. She wanted to tell her when they were alone.

            “I have things to do that don’t include being here,” Aubrey stood up and picked up her tray. “We’re talking later,” she said to Beca before walking away.

            Chloe frowned as she looked at her girlfriend. “What’s going on?”

            “Nothing,” Beca said.

            “Beca,” Chloe said in a warning tone.

            “We’ll talk about it after work,” Beca said. “This isn’t the place.”

            Luke approached the table and sat down across from Beca and next to Chloe. “What’s this about you transferring to CMC?”

            Chloe’s head snapped to Luke. “What?”

            “Luke,” Beca groaned in irritation.

            “Oh, um… I’ve got to run.” Luke got up and left the table deciding to talk to Beca about her transfer later.

            Chloe looked at Beca with wide eyes. “You’re leaving Barden Hospital? Why would you want to do that?”

            “In order to be with you,” Beca replied as she got up. “Look, we’ll talk later. I’ve got to get going.”

            “Beca,” Chloe began.

            “Later,” Beca said again before walking away.

            Chloe sat at the table as she thought about what she had just learned. As she sat there, Stacie and Jesse arrived at the table.

            “What’s wrong with you?” Stacie asked as she sat down.

            “Beca,” Chloe replied.

            “You two just made things official,” Jesse said, taking a seat beside Stacie. “You can’t be having issues already.”

            “She’s leaving Barden to go to Clearview Medical Center,” Chloe stated.

            “Why the hell would she do that?” Stacie asked.

            “In order for us to be together without repercussions,” Chloe explained. “If anyone should leave, it should be me.”

            “Okay, no,” Stacie said. “You can’t leave. This is the best teaching hospital in the area.”

            “I can’t let Beca do this,” Chloe said. “It’s stupid.”

            Jesse smiled. “She loves you. She’s willing to make this big change in order for you two to be happy. I think that’s sweet.”

            Stacie looked at her friend in annoyance. “Don’t encourage it.”

            Chloe stood up. “I have to talk to her. I’ll see you guys later.” Chloe left the cafeteria and went to track Beca down. She found her girlfriend talking to Luke not too far from the cafeteria. “Beca.

            Beca’s shoulders slumped and she turned around to look at Chloe. “I’ve made my decision.”

            “On-call room now,” Chloe said before walking past Beca and Luke to enter the closest room.

            “Good luck,” Luke whispered before walking away.

            Beca sighed and entered the room Chloe had just entered. “I’m doing this for us.”

            Chloe folded her arms across her chest. “Well I don’t want you to do it. As your girlfriend _and_ a doctor who wants to learn from you, I can’t let you leave. Besides, you won’t be happy anywhere else, Beca. Barden has-,”

            “The best trauma center,” Beca finished for her. “I know. I know that it won’t be the same, but I don’t care. I care about you and I want us to work. This might be the only way to ensure that we do.”

            Chloe couldn’t help but feel like Beca would end up regretting her and their relationship if she transferred. “Stay at Barden Hospital, Beca. We can still be together. We’ll keep it a secret.”

            “I don’t want to keep anything a secret anymore,” Beca said. “If we try to hide this,” she gestured between them, “and we get found out later on, it’ll still be a problem. I don’t want to have to worry about that.”

            “Beca this isn’t worth it,” Chloe said, but immediately realized she had said the wrong thing when she could see the hurt in Beca’s eyes.

            “Our relationship isn’t worth the trouble?” Beca asked. 

            “That’s not what I meant,” Chloe said.

            “What the hell else could you have meant, Chloe?” Beca snapped. “I can’t do this right now. I have a surgery and I need to be focused. You can come find me later and let me know if this relationship means anything to you.”

            “Beca,” Chloe began but Beca left the room, shutting the door firmly behind her. “Shit.” Chloe dropped her head back and let out a frustrated sigh. She had messed up.

 

 

 

            Ethan entered his office after doing a surgery and found Chloe Beale sitting in his office. He cleared his throat and Chloe immediately stood up in order to face him.

            “Doctor Mitchell,” Chloe greeted him. “Sorry to impose like this.”

            “What can I do for you, Doctor Beale?” Ethan said, closing his office door.

            “I love your daughter,” Chloe blurted out. “I am in love with her. I know it’s not appropriate or whatever but I can’t help how I feel. She’s amazing. She’s a great person. She makes me happy and I like to think that I make her happy too. We tried for a year to ignore how we felt and quite frankly, it sucked. I can’t go back to that. I won’t.” Chloe picked up a paper she had placed on the desk earlier. “I want to give you this.”

            Ethan took the paper and looked over it. “A transfer?” He moved over to his desk and picked up another paper. “That won’t be necessary.” He handed the paper to Chloe. “Doctor Mitchell has already decided to leave.”

            Chloe took the paper. “And you’d let her?”

            “I can’t stop her,” Ethan said. “Trust me, losing a doctor like her wouldn’t be ideal but I can’t make her stay here.”

            Chloe looked at Beca’s transfer request for a moment before ripping it. She ripped it several more times for good measure before dropping it in the trashcan by the desk. “I should be the one to go. Not her.” Chloe turned to leave but then stopped remembering another thing. “Oh, and here.” She pulled the contract from her lab coat and handed it to Ethan. “It’s all signed,” she said before turning to walk out.

            Ethan let out a sigh before plopping down in his chair. He looked at Chloe’s transfer request form for a few seconds before picking up his phone.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

            Beca was home with Aubrey, listening to the blonde lecture her about how much of a bad idea it was to leave Barden Hospital but her mind was only on Chloe. She didn’t understand where they stood right now and she wanted to talk to her. She was just being stubborn right now.

            “Are you even listening?” Aubrey asked with a sigh.

            “Chloe said transferring wasn’t worth it,” Beca said, pitifully. “What do you think she meant?”

            “Probably not what you think she did,” Aubrey assured her. “I understand why you want to leave and I can’t stop you, but I think it’s a bad idea. Chloe will feel horrible about it and you’ll eventually resent her and then you two won’t work.”

            “One of us will get transferred anyway if the Board finds out that we’re together,” Beca pointed out. “I’m just speeding up the inevitable.”

            “This is stupid,” Aubrey said. “Just stay. You’re my work wife. You can’t do this to me.”

            There was a knock at the door and Aubrey got up to answer it. She looked through the peephole and was glad to see Chloe. She opened the door and gestured to Beca. “Talk some sense into her please.”

            “No need,” Chloe said. “She’s not transferring.” Chloe looked at Beca. “I ripped up your request form.”

            “What? How’d you manage that? I can put in another one,” Beca stood up from the couch.

            “I spoke with your father today,” Chloe said. “And I gave him my transfer request.”

            Beca looked at Chloe with wide eyes. “Why would you do that?”

            “Because I couldn’t let you transfer,” Chloe explained.

            Aubrey headed to the kitchen in order to not be in the way but still hear the conversation.

            “We should’ve talked about this first,” Beca said, trying to keep her anger under control.

            “Just like you should’ve talked to me before you decided that you wanted to transfer,” Chloe threw back. “I don’t want you to be unhappy, Beca.”

            Beca moved over to Chloe and took one of her hands into her own. “I won’t be, Chlo. I’ll be happy because I’ll have you. It’s not like I’m losing my job. I’ll just be a doctor somewhere else. I want you to be taught by the best, which is why I want you to stay at Barden. It’s just makes the most sense. I am transferring out. Not you. Okay?” She looked at both Chloe and Aubrey for an answer.

            “I don’t like this,” Aubrey huffed, though she understood where her friend was coming from.

            “Hey, maybe once the Board gets their head out of their asses, I’ll come back. I really do think this is the best solution.”

            “I’ll support you,” Aubrey said.

            Chloe sighed before nodding her head. “Yeah, me too. I hate this but we’ll make it work.”

            Beca placed a gentle kiss on Chloe’s lips. “Don’t mope. I’m totally fine with this. We can be that obnoxiously happy couple, you know?”

            “Well does the obnoxiously happy couple want to go on a triple date?” Aubrey asked.

            “A triple date?” Beca repeated. “That sounds painful.”

            Chloe looked excited by the idea. “No, it’ll be fun! Who’s going?” She asked Aubrey.

            “Me, Luke, Callie and Arizona,” Aubrey answered. “We’re going to dinner.”

            Chloe looked at Beca with puppy dog eyes as she pouted.

            Beca sighed. “Fine, we can go.”

            “Don’t act like you don’t love spending time with us,” Aubrey said as she headed towards her room. “I’ll grab clothes to change into. You two can have make-up sex or whatever.”

            Beca blushed at her friend’s words and Chloe laughed. “We appreciate it,” Chloe said as Aubrey disappeared into her room.

            “Hey,” Chloe brushed a strand of hair from Beca’s face. “When I said it wasn’t worth it… that came out the wrong way. I didn’t mean our relationship wasn’t worth the trouble. I love you.”

            “I love you too. I’m sorry I overreacted.”

            “It’s an intense situation,” Chloe said. “Emotions are running high. We’ve made up now so we’re good.”

            Beca grinned. “Are we having make-up sex?”

            “Definitely.” Chloe kissed the brunette and Beca placed her hands on her hips as she deepened it. As the two stood making out for what was probably a few minutes, Aubrey exited her room and shook her head. “See you two tonight.”

            Beca threw a wave at Aubrey as she continued to kiss Chloe. “Bedroom,” she said against her lips.

            Chloe hummed her response and the two stayed attached at the lips as they made their way to the room.

 

 

 

 

            Callie saw Beca and Chloe approaching the table and grinned at them as they sat down. “You’re fifteen minutes late.”

            “Really sorry about that,” Chloe said. “It took us awhile to get ready.”

            “You mean awhile to stop having sex,” Arizona joked.

            “Anyway,” Beca said, sheepishly. She noticed the two untouched drinks in front of her and Chloe. “Did you order this for us?”

            “I did,” Aubrey said. “The waiter should be back around to take our order.”

            “Thanks,” Beca said before picking up her wine and sipping it.

            “So you’re really leaving us?” Luke asked.

            Beca nodded. “I’m going to CMC.”

            “We’re going to miss you,” Callie said. “I still remember when we first met. A man had just been brought into trauma and he was yelling at me to save his leg. He was freaking out and wouldn’t stay still for anyone to do anything. You approached him and told him if he didn’t shut the hell up and let me help him, he’d not only be an idiot but also legless.”

            “So you’ve always been harsh?” Chloe asked with a grin.

            “She definitely has,” Luke laughed, “but she has her moments. I was going to quit before I even had a chance to finish my internship but Beca talked me out of that.”

            Chloe frowned. “Why were you going to quit?”

            “I lost someone during surgery and didn’t take it well,” Luke explained. “Beca helped me get it together. It’s going to suck without you, Becs.”

            “It’ll all work out,” Beca assured them. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she made an apologetic face before answering it. “It’s the Chief.”

            “Uh oh,” Aubrey said. “That can’t be good. Does he ever call you just to say hi?”

            “Never,” Beca said before answering. “Doctor Mitchell.”

            “Beca,” Ethan began. “I’ll need to see you and Beale in my office first thing tomorrow morning.”

            “And what is this about?” Beca asked.

            “You’ll find out tomorrow morning. Have a good night.”

            “Yeah, you too.” Beca ended the call and looked at Chloe. “Chief’s office tomorrow morning as soon as we get into work.”

            “That doesn’t sound promising,” Chloe said, sarcastically. “Maybe I pissed him off when I spoke with him.”

            “I’m not worried about it,” Beca said, not wanting to ruin their time out. “Let’s just enjoy our night.”

            Chloe hoped the Board hadn’t decided to just get rid of them both. That would definitely defeat the purpose of what they had been doing. Pushing her worries to the back of her mind, Chloe went back to enjoying her time out with Beca and their friends.

 

 

 

            Beca and Chloe were standing outside of Ethan’s office, neither really wanting to deal with him or the Board this early. Beca looked over at Chloe and quirked a brow. “We should probably knock.”

            Chloe shook her head. “One more minute.” Chloe was afraid of what this little meaning meant for them and wanted to hold off as long as possible.”

            Beca reached over and kissed Chloe on her temple. “Whatever happens in there, it’s going to be okay.”

            Chloe expelled a deep breath. “You’re right. I need to relax. Okay, let’s do this.” She knocked on the door firmly.

            “Come in,” Ethan instructed.

            Beca opened the door and allowed Chloe to walk in first before she walked in behind her.

            “I’m just going to jump straight into this,” Ethan began. “I had a very long afternoon talking to the Board yesterday after your visit Doctor Beale. I let them know that this contract is more distracting than anything else and that things were less hectic before it came about. After a lot of back and forth, they have decided that the contract is unnecessary.” Chloe wanted to break out into a smile but she remained serious as the man continued to speak. “Beale, I have thrown away your transfer. You’re not going anywhere and neither are you Mitchell. Since I fought so hard to end this new regulation, I would appreciate it if you two didn’t let your personal life interfere with your work.”

            “It won’t,” Beca assured him.

            “Good,” Ethan said. “Doctor Beale, you may leave. Doctor Mitchell, I have a few more words for you.”

            “Thank you, sir,” Chloe said before leaving. She hoped Beca wasn’t about to get into any trouble for anything.

            Ethan looked at his daughter for a beat before speaking. “You were going to leave here in order to be with her and she was willing to do the same. Now, I don’t get to see you often, but I have noticed the changes in you due to Chloe. They’re good changes and I’d like to continue to see you happy.”

            Beca frowned in confusion. “Did you fight to end this contract just to make me happy?”

            Ethan smiled and leaned back in his chair. “What? Of course not? That wouldn’t be very professional of me now would it? I ended the contract because it was becoming more of a headache than it was worth. That’s all.”

            Beca looked at him skeptically. “That’s all?”

            Ethan nodded. “Yeah. And if I can turn off Chief-mode for a moment and speak to my daughter, that’d be great.”

            “Go ahead.”

            “I know we said we would work on things and try to get along but we kind of let the ball drop there and I really want a relationship with you, Beca. Maybe we can have dinner together or something soon and then you can formally introduce me to your girlfriend.”

            Beca smiled. “We can do that.”

            Should I write up a contract so that it’ll actually happen?” Ethan joked.

            “Your jokes are lame, Dad,” Beca said with a small smile before turning to leave. “I have to go save lives.”

            “Hold on, there’s one more thing,” Ethan said. “I shouldn’t be telling anyone this yet but I’d like to inform you that in order to improve our hospital, the Board has decided that we need to transfer out a few residents. They asked me to come up with a list and I’m sorry to say that Bumper Allen made that list. I know you’ll be heartbroken over that.”

            “So heartbroken,” Beca said, sarcastically as she internally celebrated this news. “I loved seeing that smug face and hearing that annoying voice. It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye.”

            “I’m sure it will be,” Ethan said. “You can go save those lives now.”

            “I will go do just that.” Beca opened the office door but stopped to look back at her father. “Thank you,” she said, sincerely.

            “I have absolutely no idea what you’re thanking me for,” Ethan said as he picked up a pen on his desk. “I’m just doing my job.”

            Beca smiled at her father. “Well, thank you for doing your job,” she said before exiting the office. She made her way back downstairs to trauma and saw Chloe by the desk. She made her way over to her and simply smiled.

            Chloe brightened when she saw her girlfriend. “Wasn’t that the best news ever?”

            Beca nodded. “Among other things.”

            “There was better news than that?” Chloe asked, confused.

            “I’ll tell you later,” Beca said. “What does your schedule look like today?”

            “I have a surgery with Robbins,” Chloe answered.

            Beca playfully narrowed her eyes at the redhead. “You’re cheating on trauma with peds. You need to make up your mind. Your internship is about to end and you’ll be starting as a resident. You need to focus on a specialty.”

            Chloe looked at Beca with a pout. “It’s so hard.”

            “I’m sure it is, traitor.” Beca looked around and spotted Stacie walked down the hall. “Conrad!”

            Stacie spun around and looked at Beca. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t do whatever I’m about to get yelled at for. …Like eight-five percent sure.”

            “Do you want to scrub in for a solo surgery?” Beca asked.

            Stacie’s eyes widened. “Seriously? I would love that!”

            “Wait there,” Beca ordered before looking back at Chloe whose mouth was hanging open. She used her pointer finger to push her jaw up. “I’m in a good mood.”

            “I can see that,” Chloe said, amused. “Were you going to let me have that?”

            “I was,” Beca answered. “But you have that peds thing.”

            “I hate you,” Chloe said, good-naturedly.

            Beca smirked. “You can show me how much you hate me tonight. I’ll have a lot of energy to burn,” she winked at Chloe before walking away to join Stacie.

            Chloe bit her bottom lip as she smiled. She loved when Beca got like that.

            Aubrey approached the redhead and rolled her eyes. “You look like a lovesick school girl not a bad ass doctor. Fix that.”

            Chloe straightened up and took on a serious look but it only lasted a second before she was smiling again.

            Aubrey laughed. “There’s no hope for you. I have a surgery. Do you want to scrub in?”

            “Can’t,” Chloe said. “I have a surgery with Robbins.”

            “Are you going to peds?” Aubrey asked. “You totally have the look and personality of a peds person.”

            “I thought I knew what I was doing,” Chloe said. “But I don’t. I love the rush of trauma. It’s where I’ve always wanted to be but I’m really good up there in peds.”  

            “You need to choose a specialty soon,” Aubrey warned her.

            “I know,” Chloe sighed. “And I will… soon.”

            “Good luck,” Aubrey said before walking away.

            Chloe took a deep breath and began to walk towards the elevator. “Tonight,” she muttered to herself. “I will make up my mind tonight.”  
           

           

            Chloe was lying in bed trying to catch her breath while Beca placed kisses along her stomach. When the brunette began to go lower, she quickly stopped her. “Wait, I can’t go again.”

            Beca looked up at her with a smirk. “Tired?”

            “Beyond belief,” Chloe confirmed. “Why aren’t you tired?”

            “I have a lot of energy.” Beca moved up and kissed Chloe on the lips. “I’m in a really good mood.”

            “Yeah, you’ve mentioned that,” Chloe said, breathlessly. “I think four is a solid number, though and anything over that will kill me.”

            “I was really hoping for a round five.” Beca moved her lips to Chloe’s neck.

            Chloe gasped and pushed the brunette away gently. “No, we have work tomorrow. Behave.”

            Beca moved to lie beside Chloe and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I love you.”

            Chloe smiled. “I love you too. I want to ask you a question.”

            “Go for it.” Beca cuddled up to Chloe, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend’s waist.

            “Would you be upset if I went to peds?” Chloe asked.

            “Of course not,” Beca answered. “Why? Is that were you want to go?”

            “I don’t know yet,” Chloe sighed. “I didn’t think this would be such a difficult decision.”

            “Do what will make you happy,” Beca replied. “Like I said, I thought I was going to go into cardio but I ended up in trauma. Whatever you choose, I know you’ll be great at. Especially with that high score you got on your exams.”

            Chloe beamed. “I did do pretty great, huh? What was your score when you took yours?”

            “I got a perfect score,” Beca informed her before placing a kiss on her shoulder.

            Chloe turned in Beca’s arms in order to look at her. “A perfect score? That’s amazing, Beca.” Chloe got a mischievously glint in her eyes as she continued to speak. “You know, you being so smart is really a turn on.”

            Beca chuckled. “Yeah?”

            “Mmhm.” Chloe kissed Beca and the two got lost in each other for a few minutes before Chloe pulled away. “If I weren’t so tired, I’d be all over you,” she said before turning around to go to sleep. “Night.”

            “Oh, you’re evil,” Beca said as she closed her eyes. She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes but her good mood from today was still radiating through her making it difficult for her to settle down. She had never had so many things in her life go so right. It was always have a personal life or be a doctor. She could never have both, but now everything was falling into place for her and it was amazing.

            Once Chloe’s breath evened out and Beca was sure she had fallen asleep, she carefully got out of bed and got dressed before she made her way into the living room. She turned on the TV and looked through her DVDs to see what surgery she wanted to watch but she found one of Chloe’s DVDs mixed in with hers. She thought it over for a moment and popped Chloe’s movie into the DVD player before sitting down.

            An hour later, Chloe exited the bedroom and found her girlfriend in the living room watching _Easy A._ “Have a nightmare?” Chloe asked.

            Beca looked over at Chloe and smiled. “No, no nightmare. I haven’t had one of those in a while.”

            “Then what are you doing up?”

            “I still have this happy buzz thing going on,” Beca explained. “I’m riding it out.”

            Chloe picked up the remote and shut off the TV. “Come to bed.”

            “Yes ma’am.” Beca got up from the couch and followed Chloe back into the room. She got back into bed and Chloe cuddled up to her, wrapping an arm around Beca to ensure that she wouldn’t be able to escape the bed easily again. Beca chuckled at this and closed her eyes. She thought about how she was a year from now and how she was today. A lot of things had changed and she had the redhead in her bed to thank for it.

            “I can feel you thinking,” Chloe mumbled. “Sleep.”

            “I didn’t realize how amazing life could be until you,” Beca said.

            Chloe smiled but kept her eyes closed. “Life is pretty freakin’ fantastic right now, huh? I’m glad your dad came through for us.”

            Beca knew she wasn’t supposed to say anything but she couldn’t keep it in any longer. “Bumper’s getting transferred.”

            Chloe opened her eyes and raised her head to look at Beca. “Bumper’s getting transferred?”

            “Yep.”

            “I won’t have to deal with him anymore?”

            “Nope.”

            “Are you messing with me?”

            “Not at all.”

            Chloe squealed happily and kissed Beca. “That is awesome news!” She kissed Beca again and the brunette took notice of her girlfriend’s wandering hands.

            “I thought you were tired?” Beca grinned against her lips.

            “We have to celebrate this amazing news with amazing sex.” Chloe said as she tugged at Beca’s shorts.

            “No arguments here,” Beca said before rolling them over so that she was on top.

 

           

           


	27. Chapter 27

**Epilogue**

 

One year later…

            Chloe carried a box into the apartment and dropped it onto the floor before sitting on it. “This is the last of it,” she breathed out.

            “Tell me again why we’re doing this alone?” Beca asked as she looked around the apartment at the boxes.

            Chloe grinned. “Because all our friends are doctors and they’re currently working.”

            Beca opened one of the boxes and frowned at the pink toaster inside of it. “A pink toaster?”

            Chloe smiled brightly. “Isn’t it cute? I’ve had that thing since I started college.”

             Beca made a face at it. “It’s horrendous. Besides, I have a toaster. A normal one.”

            Chloe scoffed. “I’m not throwing out my toaster.”

            “We’re going to have doubles of everything aren’t we?” Beca sighed.       

            “We can put some stuff in storage,” Chloe assured her. “That just won’t include my toaster. It’s cute.”

            “You’re lucky you are too.” Beca moved over to Chloe and kissed her. “Let’s take a break from unpacking.”

            Chloe laughed. “We haven’t even started.”

            “We should take a pre-break.” Beca kissed Chloe before pulling away and linking their fingers together. “We should test out our new bed and see how well these walls work.”

            “I really want to do that but we should at least make a dent in our workload.” Chloe allowed Beca to pull her into the bedroom.

            “I’ll do twice as much work after,” Beca assured her.

            Chloe laughed. “That’s a lie. Let’s just get half of it done.”

            “Then I’ll be too tired,” Beca whined.

            Chloe kissed her girlfriend, nipping at her bottom lip as she pulled away. “Boxes.” She left the room and smirked as she heard Beca let out a dissatisfied groan. “If we focus on this, it shouldn’t take too long.”

            Beca went back into the living room and gestured to the boxes marked kitchen. “Let’s start with the kitchen stuff.”

            “Kitchen stuff it is,” Chloe said before moving over to those boxes. “How are Aubrey and Luke enjoying their new place?”

            “They’re loving it,” Beca smiled. “One more month and they’ll be married. I still can’t believe I have to be a bride’s maid. I look so weird in dresses.”

            “Are you kidding me? When I saw you in your bride’s maids dress, I about died. You were beautiful in it.”

            Beca shrugged. “I guess I looked okay in it.”

            “Amazing,” Chloe corrected as she pulled stuff out of the box and headed into the kitchen with them. As Chloe put away things away, she glanced over at Beca and noticed her girlfriend watching her. “What?”

            Beca smiled happily. “This is pretty awesome. Us living together. It’s going to be great.”

            “You mean the domesticity of it all isn’t scaring you?” Chloe joked.

            “I totally thought about escaping tonight while you’re asleep but I think I can manage the domestic bliss that is being with you.”

            Chloe moved over to Beca and kissed her. “Being all cute and sweet isn’t going to get you out of helping. Start unpacking.” Beca laughed and made a show of opening a box and pulling out the items in it. “That’s better.”  

            The two spent the better part of their morning and afternoon bantering playfully as they unpacked their belongings.

 

 

            The following day, Beca approached two of the new interns, a young woman and a young man, who were standing in the hallway laughing about something or other. “Are you two unable to find something to do?”

            The intern stopped laughing and stood up straight.

            “Um, we’ve done all that we’re supposed to do,” the male intern informed her.

            Beca wasn’t pleased with that answer. “And you can’t find anything else to do? Like check on sick patients?”

            “We’ll go do that right now,” he promised.

            “No, I’ve got something for you to do,” Beca assured them. She spotted Chloe walked her way and waved her over. “Doctor Beale. These interns need something to do and they’ve also managed to piss me off.”

            Chloe smirked. “I will find something unpleasant for them to do. Lunch later?”

            “I’m having a late lunch,” Beca informed her. “I have a surgery, but I’m free at three.”

            “Three’s good,” Chloe said and watched as Beca walked away, leaving her to handle the interns.

            “Geez,” the female intern said. “She’s so easy to piss off. Did you intern here with her? How’d you survive?”

            “No kidding,” the male intern jumped in. “She needs to get laid or something.”

            Chloe smiled at the two interns. “Not only is Doctor Mitchell an amazing attending here, she’s also my girlfriend.” Chloe took pleasure of the wide look of fear in the eyes of the interns.

            “Oh god, please don’t tell her what I said,” the woman said.

            “Look, she’s tough. All the attendings are,” Chloe said. “Just deal with it. And I’m sure you’ve heard Posen’s rules so stop whining. Hall, head to room two-fifteen. That’s where you’ll be giving rectal exams.”

            The male intern’s eyes widened even more. “Rectal exams? Seriously?”

            “It builds character.” Chloe looked to the other intern. “Espinoza, there’s a woman in the waiting room who can’t control her bladder. Go find out why.”

            The interns stomped away and Chloe smiled at their misery before going to find her friends. She didn’t have to walk far. She found Stacie and Jesse lecturing a few other interns before sending them on their way.

            “What’s with these interns?” Stacie asked in disbelief. “No discipline. And man-whore intern just wants to drool over everyone. It’s ridiculous.”

            Chloe chuckled and shook her head. “Man-whore reminds me a lot of someone else.”

            “Oh please,” Stacie scoffed. “I had my drooling under control. So what brings you down here?”

            “Looking for you two,” Chloe said. “House warming party this Saturday. Can you two make it?”

            “Of course,” Jesse said. “I already have the perfect gift for you two.”

            “No toasters,” Chloe said.

            Jesse’s shoulders slumped. “It was a really cool toaster, too.”

            “Actually, we don’t want presents at all. We have enough stuff. We just want your company.”

            “We’ll be there,” Stacie assured her.

            “Alright, I have to head back upstairs. I’ll see you later. Chloe headed upstairs to the pediatrics floor and immediately made her way to the room of one of her patients. “Keith. How are you doing, buddy?”

            The little boy smiled, happily at seeing Chloe. “I feel okay. Am I going to have a scar, though?” He gently touched his chest where he had had surgery a few days ago.

            “Yeah, buddy,” Chloe said. “There will be a scar, but can I tell you a secret?” Ethan nodded and Chloe leaned in closer to him. “That scar shows how brave you are. When you see it, just remember how much of a super rock star you are, okay?”

            Ethan laughed. “Okay. Can you stay and color with me?”

            “I’ll have to come back and color with you,” Chloe said. “But I promise, we’ll color soon.” Chloe ruffled the boys hair and left the room, bumping into Arizona as she did so. “Hey! Are you busy this weekend?”

            Arizona thought for a few seconds. “I have a surgery Saturday morning.”

            “Think you can make a house warming party?” Chloe asked.

            “I’ll definitely try,” Arizona promised. “How are you and Beca doing?”

            “Great,” Chloe said, happily. “I love her so much, Arizona. She surprises me every day with just how amazing she is.”

            Arizona laughed. “You two are so adorable and speaking of adorable, here comes your girlfriend.”

            Chloe turned around and brightened at the sight of Beca. “What are you doing up here?”

            “Kepner was supposed to scrub in with me and now she can’t,” Beca explained. “Which works out because I’ve missed you.”         

            “I saw you a few minutes ago,” Chloe pointed out, amused.

            “That doesn’t count,” Beca stated. “I was too busy scaring the interns. So are you available to scrub in with me?”

            Chloe looked at Arizona who rolled her eyes playfully. “Go on, but don’t try to recruit her back to trauma.”

            “Hey, you should come to our party,” Beca said to Arizona. “It’s probably going to be lame but there will be free food.”

            Chloe slapped Beca lightly on the arm. “That’s not how you invite people to things. Besides, I’ve already invited her.”

            “I’ll try to make it,” Arizona said. “You two go have fun with your surgery.”

            Beca and Chloe made their way towards the elevator. “This is exciting,” Chloe said. “We haven’t done a surgery together in months.”

            “Yeah, it’ll be like old times. You can bask in my awesomeness and everything,” Beca joked.

            Chloe laughed and nudged Beca with her shoulder as they stopped at the elevator. She hit the down button and the doors opened immediately. They stepped inside and as soon as the doors closed, Chloe pulled her girlfriend into a kiss.

            Beca chuckled into the kiss and returned it with fervor. When they heard the chime, signaling that the doors were about to open, they quickly pulled apart. The doors slid open and Ethan Mitchell smiled at them.

            “Hey, how’d the whole moving thing work out?” Ethan asked.

            Beca ran a hand through her hair as she tried to look like she hadn’t just been making out in the elevator. “It was a pain in the ass.”

            “Beca,” Chloe chided as she stepped off of the elevator with her girlfriend.

            Beca frowned. “What? It was.”  

            Ethan smiled at the two before stepping onto the elevator. “Are you two staying out of trouble?”

            Beca smiled. “Of course. We’re not making out in elevators or anything like that.” Beca waved to her father as the elevator doors slid closed and Chloe hit her on the upper arm. “Ow,” she pouted.

            “Why would you say that?” Chloe laughed.

            “I was playing it cool,” Beca insisted.

            “You’re trouble.”

            “You love me.”

            “That I do.” Chloe leaned over at kissed Beca on the cheek. “Can I take point on this surgery?”

            “Absolutely not. I want my patient to survive.”  

            Chloe’s mouth fell open in mock offense. “I’m an awesome surgeon.”

            “Maybe up in peds where everything is less hardcore.”

            Chloe knew Beca was baiting her but she gave into it anyway. “Peds is nothing but hardcore and if Robbins hears you talking like that, she’ll kick your ass.”

            “You can kick my ass for her. I think I’d like it.”

            “You’re so ridiculous,” Chloe laughed as she entered the room where she and Beca needed to wash up before their surgery.

            Beca sighed happily as she followed Chloe into the room. Every day with the redhead was an adventure and she loved every second of it.

           

 

           

           


End file.
